





L A 


: jj SHU 

i9 





































% 


















•4. '7" 

































^ 



c> 



-7= 



^ 



tf 






^ 



















V>%. 









v>% 






N 






\0 






■■/ 


















^ ^, 



^ 









! 






•*.. 



% 









X ^. 
























^ 





















^ 

x 00 ^. 









% ** 
























v-* - 



<(• ' 









\ > 



-e* 



\ 






j -^ 


































































\\ <> 









■ 































































-A 















' ■■ 



% 


















„-ft 
















































9- 






V 





























































































*> > 
























\ 












^ 



* , ' 




































■/ 



TU^ liWIT^S 



OE 



2> 



TO THE 



PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, 



OS THE 



Presidential Election, 

AND 

IN FAVOUR OF ANDRRW JACKSON. 

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 

THE CQJ-VMBIAN OBSERVER, 



■Midst the battle's commotion he rose on the view 
Of his Countiy-to shie ld her, or perish there too. 

"JACKSON, all hail! our Country's pride and boast, 

Whose mind's a Council, and whose arm s a host. 

Welcome blest chief. Accept pur grateful lays, 

Unbidden homage of our grateful praise. 

Remembrance long shall keep alive thy fame, 

And future ages venerate thy name. ^ ^ ^^ 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY S. SIMPSON & J- -CONRAD 



1824. 












</• 









- 1 

A' I 



^ 









Advertisement 



THE following eloquent and patriotic Letters originally 
appeared in the Columbian Observer, of this city. The great 
importance of the Presidential FMdion t and the immense 
magnitude of the ohject at stake, taken in connexion with 
the frequent applications from persons "far and near," to be 
possessed of the Letters of "Wyoming," have now led to 
their publication in the pamphlet form. I should, however, 
do an act of gross injustice both to the distinguished and pa- 
triotic author Gf these essays, as well as to myself, were I 
to abstain from alleging, as the most powerful reason for 
their republication, the pure bembcratic principles, and the 
just, comprehensive, and enlightened views of national po- 
licy, which pervade and animate with a cheering blaze, their e( j 
correct and classical pages, it must afford their Author an me 
unmixed satisfaction to learn, should this Advertisement ever iV om 
meet his eye, that * Wyoming," has been republished in. dis 
most of the papers of the Union, with expressions of praise, elf to 
that approve of his principles, and of patriotism that \touI<\ 
combine its most strenuous exeriions to aid the furtherance 
of his great design, viz. r Jhat of elevating to the govern- 
ment of his country, the choice oj the Peopie-the Cincinnatm > s ge 
>J America, and the revolutionary compatriot of General toL 
Seqrge Washington. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

Aether motive, of not less cogent impulse, has act uated 
to this publication. The principles, v.ews, and pohc, of the 
writer, are founded on the best and pure,, docte.ues rf Rb- 
T „ L „ T1 oN A nr L.BEKTV ; and his precepts m re aUon *tto 
present operation of our government, bemg j^ W£ 
are sue., as promise to ensure its perpetual dura. »«, « *•* 
danger of rorrnp.ion, or a departure from its firs p un upk* 
)„depe„dent of the Presidential contest the Lett. so Wr 
„>Jc," are a depository of political w.sdom and *M- 
Jike views, which eannot fail to enlighten as well as please 
Ld at the same time that they tend to the t~g£* 
the Rights or Man, likewise contribute to the proper 
length and authority of government ; for it eannot be e- 
nied, that Public Opinion, founded on an exper.ence of ^ the 
bles logs of free government, is the safest guarantee off.ee- 
dom to the people, and of glory and honour to tbose who 
aovern in (heir name, and by virtue of their power. 

As the second Apostle of their Party, ever> Democrai .mist 
,„„k „p to Andkew Jackso», as the destined P™«" eP « 
principles vitally necessary to the existence ot those e no 
I.U., to achieve which l.e bled in the Revoiut.on, and to 
maintain which he saved bis country in the late *ventlul eon- 

test with Britain. . 

1 cannot close this Advertisement without citing the opinion 

of Mr Paine, in respect to the importance of a popular at- 

tention to all pnhlic and political concerns in a free govern- 

inC nt like ours. « In the Representative system, ' says thai 

immortal patriot in the Second Fart of his Rights of Man 

« the reason of every thing must publicly appear. Every Ma* 

is a proprietor in government, and considers it a necessary part o 

his business to understand. It concerns his interest because ,. aj 

feds his property. He examines the cost, and compares it wit 

the advantages ; and ahove all, he does not adopt the slavisl 

cuslom of following what in other governments are calle 

LEADERS." EDITOR. 



WYOMING 

xo. I. 



The Next President 

AND 

GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. 

At (he formation of our government, the best and happiest 
the world has ever seen, no controversy existed as to who 
should preside over the destinies of the nation. One flushed 
with success, and at the head of a victorious army, was call- 
ed to take charge of the government. He was a military 
man, and the nation, so far from apprehending a capacity 
or disposition on his part, to subvert the liberty he had ac- 
quired for his country, confided with one voice her destinies 
to his hands. Then was it not an inquiry, who could write 
a paragraph with the greatest classical purity ; or who, the 
most finished veteran at intrigue ; the question was, who is 
he, that, fearless of consequences, and regardless of dan- 
ger, has breasted the storm in the hour of peril, and risked 
himself for the country. There was a virtue with the Ame- 
rican people then, which would have bade them spurn from 
their confidence, that man, who, by any effort, however dis- 
guised, could have manifested a wish to elevate himself to 
the Presidential chair. 

Sed tempora mutantur 
Et nos mutamur cum illis. 

The leading ,nen of the present day, like Alexander's ge- 
nerals, are seen manoeuvring after power, and ready to stake 



( 4 ) 

the happiness of their -country on the success of some favour- 
ite, whose only merit may be that he possesses intrigue, and 
will patronise them if successful, The original design of the 
Constitution, which intended that the freemen of the nation 
should, by an unbiassed vote, call some meritorious citizen 
to this high and distinguished post, is lost sight of, or buried 
in the corruption of the times. Intrigue passes for talent, 
and corruption has usurped the place of virtue. No longer 
are the people the wakeful guardians of their country's right sf- 
but like a victorious soldiery, too confident from s tceess, 
they will slumber and revel, and presently the enemy will he 
found in (he midst of them. 

That which the patriots and friends of the country have 
long feared, is about to arise. The enemies of free govern- 
ment had often urged, and its friends feared, that an elective 
government could iwvf endure. That the time would come, 
and occasion he presented, when the people, forgetful of their 
interest, would suffer themselves to he parcelled out in fa- 
vour of different pretenders, as the leading men of the coun- 
try, governed by faction, or controlled by interest, might 
suggest; and thereby to lose the high prerogative of select- 
ing their own Chief Magistrate ; or else by division to intro- 
duce confusion, and through corruption, suffer a new ordep 
of things to \w produced. 

Has that period arrived? look to the city of Washington, 
and let the virtuous patriots of the country weep at the spec- 
tacle. There corruption is springing into existence, and 
fast flourishing. Gentlemen, candidates for the first office 
in the gift of a free people, are found electioneering and in- 
triguing, to worm themselves into the confidence of the mem- 
bers of congress, who in support of their particular favour- 
ites, are bye and bye to go forth and dictate to the people 
what is right. The representatives of a free nation are to 
be found amidst routes and assemblies, where they are sum- 
moned, with a view to obtain their friend! 1 support, and 
through them the support of the nation, W4th the excep- 



( 5 ; 

uon of that veteran in his country^ service , the man who 
has met every peril, and known no danger too disastrous to 
be encountered when it was demanded by the public weal : 
with the exception of this great man, 

The Hero of Orleans, 
ANDREW JACKSON, 
all have toiled through the winter at Washington, seeking by 
every species of art and finesse, to further their own views, 
and press themselves into favour. Why is not 

JACKSON there? 
Because he has a soul that towers above intrigue, and be- 
cause, acting upon the true ami genuine republican princi- 
ples of the country, he seeks for nothing that is not to be 
traced through the channels of the Constitution, lie would 
disdain any other mode of promotion. None have seen him 
roaming in quest of favour and patronage. Retired from the 
busy scenes of public life* where he has been so actively and 
busily employed in the most perilous times of the Republic, 
he reposes on the laurels his valor has won, and on the affec- 
tions of a grateful people. 

To this high office Jackson has superior claims. Remem- 
ber he was of the Revolution ! Yes, citizens of Pennsylvania, 
and of the Union, he not only by his gallantry and firmness, 
gave deliverance to you during your late struggle against a 
powerful enemy ; but while a youth— even at the tender age 
of fifteen, was he found in the ranks of the Revolution fight- 
ing and bleeding for his country. When Lord Rawdon had 
overrun South Carolina in 1730, aud the whole southern 
country was in imminent danger of conquest, this young 
soldier, a mere stripling, with an older brother, who fell 
a victim to the cause in which he was engaged, marched to 
battle; where, wounded and made a prisoner, every hard- 
ship was encountered. He alone of his family survived the 
conflict of the Revolutionary war. Did his claim to the 
gratitude of his country rest here, it would be enough. It 



( 6 ) 

would be enough to know, that he is the last of those va- 
liant establishes of the liberty of our Republic, who can 
succeed to the highest office known to the Constitution. It 
would be enough to know, that he was one of those that bled 
and suffered in (he cause of freedom. 

But his claims rest not here ; for again we were involved 
in war, and our rights invaded : at this moment Jackson 
again appeared with ripened age on his side, and judgment 
matured. With a skill equalled by few, and surpassed by 
no general of the age, he embarked boldly in the cause of 
his country, and wherever he appeared, victory attended 
him. Throughout his Indian campaigns, where he had to 
encounter innumerable difficulties and trials, he was always 
himself— always successful ; and when at last he was brought 
to meet the veteran troops of England, he was found the same 
successful commander, and the same sincere friend to his 
country. 

But it is said, the qualities of his mind are not such, as 
that the high destinies of this nation should be confided to 
his hands. Where, vauntingly it is inquired, are his speeches 
i — his essays — Ins eloset productions ? The records of the 
country, I say, are full of them. — Not of speeches made to 
catch the popular ear; to swell the consequence of the 
speaker, without regard to the beneficial effect to be pro- 
duced to the country. None of the vox et preterice nihil ; but 
productions of that kind and character, to have whelmed in 
them the glory, and happiness, and safety of a people, in 
whose defence he had embarked, and in whose course his 
very soul was interested. Look to his proclamation when 
contending in the Indian country, against a powerful and in- 
sidious foe, on one side, and mutiny on the other ! Behold 
him in Florida, in treaty with the governor of Pensacola, 
where he solicited " net to be considered any more in the 
light of a diplomatist until so proclaimed from the mouths 
of his cannon." Trace him to New Orleans, where treason 
reposed, and where disaffection stalked abroad, until hopes, 



( 7 ) 

in the bosom of the sternest patriot, scarcely lingered. All 
was distrust, doubt, uncertainty and fear : there was neither 
union nor harmony, nor concert of action. Under such cir- 
cumstances, and at such a moment, Jackson arriving, stood 
in the midst, to contend against invasion without, and dis- 
contents within. With what warmth of feeling, and glowing 
fire of soul, he entered on a seemingly forlorn and hopeless 
effort, let his first address declare : 

<« Your government, Louisianians, is engaged in a just and 
honourable contest, for the security of your individual, and 
her national rights. The only country on earth where man 
enjoys freedom ; where its blessings are alike extended to the 
poor and to the rich, calls on you to protect her from the 
grasping usurpation of Britain : — she will not call in vain. 
I know that every man whose bosom beats high at the proud 
title of freeman, will promptly obey her voice, and rally 
round the eagles of his country, resolved to rescue her, from 
impending danger, or nobly die in her defence. Who refuses 
to defend his rights when called on by his government, de- 
serves to be a slave — deserves to be punished as an enemy to 
his country— a friend to her foes.* 

Here was his first effort to arouse a people discontented and 
forgetful of the proud privileges they enjoyed, to a sense of 
danger, and to the necessity of determined action. The diffi- 
culties however to union were greater than can be imagined, 
and the discordant materials out of which concert and effi- 
ciency were to be produced, were beyond what calculating 
prudence could conjecture. Great, however, as were the 
difficulties, still were they met with efforts corresponding to 
the importance of the trust confided to him. Never did any 
man exert himself more, and to better advantage, or attune 
to happier harmony the discordancies of (he moment. 

When it was announced to hiui, that superior strength had 
on the lakes destroyed his only marine force ; and that by the 

• Life of Jackson, by Ried and Eaton, page 245. 



( 3 ) 

«eriquest of his gun boats the enemy were completely masters 
of every inlet and place of landing, so far from desponding; 
as most men might have done, his decision and boldness be= 
came more apparent. The western troops from Kentucky 
and Tennessee had not yet arrived, and when and where to 
expect the enemy could onh be conjectured ; yet firm to his 
purpose, he resolved to unite the slender forces that were 
within his reach, and to this end, the next day, appeared in 
review before the Louisiana troops, when availing himself of 
the occasion, he addressed himself to them, in language cal- 
culated to make even cowards brave : 

" You are contending," said he, " for all that can render 
life desirable — for your property and your lives ; for that 
which is dearer than all, your wives and children ; — for liber- 
ty, without which, property, life and country, are not worth 
possessing. Even the embraces of wife and children are a 
reproach to the wretch, who would deprive them by his cow- 
ardice of those inestimable blessings. You are to contend 
with an enemy who seeks to deprive you of the least of these f 
who avows a war of vengeance and desolation, carried on 5 
and marked by cruelties, lusts, and horrors unknown to ci- 
vilized nations. 

*< Natives of the United States ! the enemy you are to eon- 
tend with, are the oppressors of your infant political exist- 
ence — they are the men your fathers fought and conquered, 
whom you are now to oppose. Descendants of Frenchmen ! 
Natives of France! they are English, the hereditary, the 
eternal enemies of your ancient country, the invaders of that 
you have adopted, who are your foes. Spaniards !! remem- 
ber the conduct of your allies at St. Sebastian, and recently 
at Pensacola, and rejoice that you have an opportunity of 
avenging the brutal injuries inflicted by meu who dishonour 
the human race. Louisianians! your general rejoices to wit- 
ness the spirit that animates you. Commanding men, who 
know their rights, and are determined to defend them, he 
salutes you as brethren in arms, and has now a new motive 



( 9 ) 

to exert all his faculties, which shall be strained to the ut- 
most in your* defence. Continue with the energy you have 
'begun, and he promises you not only safety, but victory over 
an insolent foe, who has insulted you by an affected doubt of 
your attachment to the constitution of your country. Your 
enemy is near ; his sails already cover the lakes; but the 
brave are united, and if he finds us contending among our- 
selves, it will be for the prize of valour, and fame, its noblest 
reward."* 

Here are some, of many selections and extracts, that might 
be made to prove the qualities of his mind, his warmth of 
fe- ling, and strong and bold conceptions : about them is no- 
thing of tinkling brass, of high and evanescent sound, where 
noise and polished periods are substituted for good sense ; 
but expressions bold and commanding, and which looking to 
the important effect to be produced, tramples all foppery 
under foot. But suppose nothing of the kind could be pro- 
duced, does it follow, and will it be pretended, that the Pre- 
sident of this Union should be considered wanting in qualifi- 
cation, because of an inability to harangue a popular assem- 
bly, and in sybil strains to turn trifles into things of seeming 
consequence. No, my countrymen ! it is not this we want 
in a chief magistrate. It is a judgment matured, and active; 
conceptions clear and accurate, and a decision that dares do 
right in spite of selfish and designing advisers. A man who 
with firmness will maintain the best interest of his country, 
regardless of the noisy clamour with which interested poli- 
ticians may beset him Such is the man we want! such is 
the man who can give character and consideration to the na- 
tion ! ! and such a man in truth is Andrew Jackson. 

When Washington emerged from the Revolution, and our 
government was about to be formed, all eyes were turned to 
t|ie man who had given such abundant testimonies of devo- 
tion to his country, and to the cause in which he had been 

* Life of Jackson, by Ried k Eaton, page 265, 



( io ) 

victorious. But Washington, neither in the forum, nor the 
senate, had shown himself a dealer in words, and a maker of 
speeches ; yet all eyes were turned towards him, and with 
one voice he was called to rule over the nation. Let that 
name, consecrated, and which merits not comparison with 
any other, be laid aside ! and where is the man next to him 
for abilities displayed, for firmness of purpose, for perils en- 
countered, and devotion to the cause of liberty and his coun- 
try ? If one be living it is 

ANDREW JACKSON! 

And why is it that he shall not bear along with him the con- 
fidence of his country ? Can it be that there is less virtue 
with the people than formerly ? Yes, my countrymen, there 
is less : not with the honest yeomanry of the country do I 
mean ; but with the few — those who with the confidence of 
the people on their side appear at Washington, and who, in 
quest of their own interest and promotion, are disposed to fa- 
vour the man, who in return can best promote their views. 
This is not indeed the kind of support which Jackson can 
look for ; his decision of character and manly firmness, are 
not calculated to recommend him to those who are in quest 
of the loaves and fishes. But he has a character, an intre- 
pidity, and independence, an attachment to his country j 
which is calculated, and must draw to him, those who can 
prize that man, whose conduct and services establish beyond 
all doubt, that no one has done more for his country 
since the days or Washington; none given higher evi- 
dence of that fidelity which is every way worthy to be con- 
fided in by a grateful people. The nation's confidence re- 
posed in such hands, can never be in danger of being betrayed; 
and if the people shall be true to themselves, and act in obe- 
dience to that gratitude which virtuous principle never fails 
to inspire, in Jackson alone will they confide. None, we 
believe, who has been spoken of, desires it less— none cer- 



( 11 ) 

iainly lias courted it less, and in this, is there an all-power- 
ful reason why he should be preferred. 
Look to this, ye who love your country ! 

WYOMING. 



XO. II. 

THE NEXT PRESIDENT, 

AND 

ANDRE W J A CKS ON. 

Republics can only exist while the people, true to them- 
selves, shall adhere to principles and to virtue ; the instant 
these are abandoned, freedom must of necessity decline, and 
ultimately be laid prostrate. The patriots of the Revolution, 
and with them those elevated sentiments of the rights of man 
which characterized that period, have nearly passed away, 
and intrigue is fast becoming that passport to office and pre- 
ferment, which in former times was yielded to virtue and to 
faithful service. Contrast the men now in power, with those 
who directed the affairs of the nation at that period, which 
established the liberty of this country; or indeed for twenty 
years subsequent to that period — and there will be found but 
little reason to infer that the mind is on the march, or the 
nation pressing to that proud advancement, which her san- 
guine friends have anticipated. There was a time, when, 
within the walls of Congress, virtue, intelligence, and senti- 
ments of lofty patriotism were to be found ; then was the 
office of a representative of the people so considered by the 
holder, and by those whom he represented, that nothing 
higher was aspired to, because nothing higher was presumed 
within the gift of the Executive. Occasionally, an example 
was to be met with, of the representatives of the freemen of 
this country parting with that character, to become diplo- 






( ™ ) 

tnatic agents at a foreign court ; though not as now, impor- 
tuning for the humble -appointment of collector of a port, 
postmaster of a little village, and even for the office of re- 
ceiver or register of some little land district, Why are these 
things so ? Why is it that the proud independence, which 
should attach to our members of Congress, is by the example 
set in modern times, so much to be distrusted? That man 
who has marked the course and current of events for some 
years past, will be enabled at once to answer. We are not 
as once we were ; the people are slumbering at their posts ; 
virtue is on the wane ; and the republican principles with 
Avhich we set out, are fast declining. To revive and to sus- 
tain them, belongs to the good sense of the American people. 

Our deterioration from the principles with which we set 
out, may be somewhat traced, and partially accounted for. 
Formerly, the Constitution looked to the Vice-President, as 
next in rotation to succeed to the first office in the govern- 
ment. He was without patronage or power ; and even if at 
that time, more than now, virtue had been wanting, induce- 
ment was evidently less ; since flattery and finesse could avail 
nothing, with one who had nothing to bestow. But a change 
was considered necessary, and the Republicans of the United 
States, estranged in their judgment by the alarming contest 
of 1801, between Mr. Jefferson and Burr, gave birth to an 
alteration, the first effect of which was to put aside one of 
the firmest patriots of the Revolution, a man of incorruptible 
integrity, and of stern Republican principles : I mean George 
Clinton, one who in his day had few equal, none superior to 
him. Mark the change, and how, from small innovations, 
the evil produced, has gradually enlarged, and is still pro- 
gressing. 

The right which custom, founded on the consent of the 
people, had sanctioned, for the Vice-President to be viewed 
as the succeeding Chief Magistrate, was thus broken upoo 
and the rule subverted ; while Mr. Madison and Mr. Mon- 
roe came up as examples, that the Secretary of State was in 



( 13 ) 

iuture to be looked to, as the individual destined to this high 
honour : but the other Secretaries, buoyed by pride, or 
prompted by ambition, were unwilling to sit by, and see a 
rule (bus grow into existence, which should place them on 
inferior ground. The first rule of the government in rela- 
tion to the Vice President had been innovated upon, and there 
was no fair reason why the second should not be assailed ; (he 
consequence has been, that now, for the first time, every 
head of a department, (one excepted,) is brought forth, each 
arrayed against the other, ami practising with a view to suc- 
cess every subtlety which art and ingenuity can suggest. 
The change is to be deplored : for while the first rule point- 
ed to one who had nothing to bestow, the innovation produced 
has placed it with those, who, bv the patronage they can ex- 
ercise, and the favours they can extend, may win over mem- 
bers of Congress, and draw to them their friends. The Se- 
cretary of the Treasury, for example, independent of the 
finances of the country being within his controtil, has in the 
way of offices a wondrous extent of patronage. 

The evils to be produced from such a state of things are 
incalculably great, and unless the good sense of the people 
shall arrest and put them down, the most mischievous ten- 
dencies may arise. Already should the nation be sensible of 
them, for already have they been deeply felt. In Congress, 
partisans are found in array, contending for the advancement 
of their friend, and depression of him to whom they are op- 
posed ; while important matters are omitted or neglected, 
through this general clatter against the particular head of a 
department. Offices within the controul of these secretaries, 
are not now to be disposed of with any view to the merit of 
the applicant; but from the consideration, what is his influ- 
ence, and how far will it be in his power to serve me ? In- 
stead of being, as was designed, the aiders, supporters, and 
counsellors of the executive, each presses in a different way, 
as a calculation on popularity may seem to sanction ; thereby 
introducing into the cabinet controversy and confusion, and 



( 14 ) 

destroying the peace, the order, and the harmony of govern- 
ment. It is not fancy alone that weaves this picture ; evils, 
if not already existing, must in future be looked for, if the 
course now sought to be established shall, through the sanc- 
tion of the people, obtain success. 

The framers of the Constitution did not perceive the ar- 
rival of a period, when the counsellors of the President 
would be found intriguing for his place, or they would doubt- 
less have interposed a remedy. To attempt an alteration 
now, has been thought of by many ; and it might be well, 
were it not that by frequent changes and alterations, reve- 
rence for the instrument may be impaired; and because, in 
the good sense and sober reflection of the American people, 
if exercised, an ample remedy already exists. Were there 
none others in the country fit and qualified for this high 
station, save our secretaries, then there would be some ex- 
cuse for sanctioning sucli a course ; this, however, cannot be 
seriously pretended. 

Upon this subject I am no partisan, nor hurried away by 
any thing either of feeling or of interest; by me nothing is 
wanted or sought for, but to sustain our republican princi- 
ples, and to see my country rise to that proud and lofty ele- 
vation to which, the people being virtuous, she is capable 
of attaining. And how is this to be effected ? The answer 
is plain : by calling to the Presidential Chair, the man who, 
of all others, has the best established claim to our confidence, 
our affections, and our gratitude: I mean 

ANDREW JACKSON: 
The Man who in the revolution bled, and who in our late 
struggle encountered every privation. His is no lukewarm, 
fireside affection for his country. While the storm of battle 
raged — while a well-trained army hovered on our shores, and 
every patriot trembled at the result of a contest, on which 
was staked the only remnant of liberty that existed on earth, 
Jackson stood forth, the Champion, the Defender, the De- 
liverer of his Country, and closed our war with a brilliancy 



( 15 ) 

that lighted a smile on the brow of every patriot. Joy spread 
through our land — illuminations and fetes were every where 
witnessed ; and even the war-worn soldier of the Revolution 
forgot his infirmities in the transport of the moment. Then 
was language like this heard : " The perseverance, decision^ and 
incorruptible integrity of this man, justly endears him to all 
parties ! The Constitution and Liberty of the country were 
in imminent peril, and he has preserved them both ! His be 
the gratitude of a nation of freemen, who have discerned 
and will appreciate his worth." The generous feelings of 
this bold deliverer, did not permit him, however, to seek that 
high office which the people were well prepared to think he 
had merited. Mr. Monroe possessed his confidence and his 
friendship, and at Lynchburg, in Virginia, the earliest oppor- 
tunity that was presented, he evinced a determination not to 
appear in opposition to him : and who had fairer claims ? 
None ! The man who had snatched his country from ruin, 
and closed her struggle for second independence, with a lus- 
tre that dazzled, in a manner that astonished even credulity 
itself, might well have asserted a claim ; but he did not. 
Eight years have gone by, and still he urges no claim, but 
rests in retirement at home, while others are figuring in the 
grand drama, and immodestly urging their own pretensions. 
His state alone has, as yet, urged his pretensions, and he has 
said all that a man like Jackson should say — I will yield my- 
self to the duties, if elected. Decide then, and remember 
'tis JACKSON, the deliverer of his country, that is before 
you. Is he wanting in coolness and dispassionate judgment? 
none can believe it, who will look to his constant success, 
when contending with generals of acknowledged ability, un- 
der circumstances the most gloomy and discouraging. Who 
looks to the uniform tenor of his life, will perceive him a 
man, generous, liberal, and brave ; and who, for firmness, 
integrity and decision ; for love of country and republican 
purity, deserves to stand in the affections of the American 
people, next to the immortal Washington. 

WYOMING. 



( 16 ) 



KO. III. 

THE NEXT PRESIDENT; 

AND 

USURPATION. 

\Vhile the idea can be associated, that the Legislatures of 
the respeciive Stales in declaring who shall be the next Pre- 
sident, are promulgating in sober earnestness the voice and 
sentiment of those whom they represent, no objection can 
be had to the practice : but if it be mere legislative expres- 
sion, an annunciation of individual opinion, designed for im- 
posing purposes, to impress the idea of a favourite's strength, 
when in fact it is wholly deceptive , if it be intended to be- 
guile, or is in fact any thing else, than a pledge, through the 
Representative, of the views and wishes of those whose inte*> 
rests have been confided to him, then should the good sense 
of the country awake to reflection, and rise in opposition to 
the practice. For the Legislature of a slate to interfere on 
this question, is a no less usurpation, than for the members 
of Congress to meet in midnight caucus to dictate for the 
people. It was wisely provided by Hie framers of our consti- 
tution, that no Senator or Representative should become an Elec- 
tor '; it was designed to guard against corruption, and to pre- 
serve from impurity the streams of Legislation, ^'ould to 
lieaven they had gone farther, and prohibited them from all 
eligibility to office of any kind, during the period for which 
they were elected. Had this been done, many of the evils 
under which we now labour, would have been avoided ; and, 
instead of finding them standing like Mordecai at the king's 
gate, in humble supplication for themselves and friends, we 
should possess a high minded corps, proud of their situation, 
and ready at all times to shake corruption from their hands. 

JVc, sutor ultra crcpidam, is a maxim that good sense and 



( 17 ) 

prudence should always regard, and which may be rendered, 
by a literal translation, to mean that every one should keep 
within the pale of his authority. No man who feels the ne- 
cessity of consulting the checks and balances of the Consti- 
tution, will ever be disposed to claim the exercise of a right 
not secured to him ; and lie is indeed an empty republican, a 
mere professor, who talks of Itis pretensions to the character, 
when at the same time, he is usurping powers, which so far 
from being given, are actually restrained by the Constitution. 
Why should a senator or representative be prohibited from 
appearing in the character of an elector, if they may meet 
together in secret conclave, and by their proclamations and re- 
commendations furestal inquiry, and dictate to the people ? As- 
suredly the evil is as great, and indeed moves upon a more 
fearful scale ; were they to exercise the right legitimately, 
there would be less cause for apprehension, inasmuch as there 
would then be a responsibility, which under a caucus arrange- 
ment, can be neither known nor felt. This then is the state 
to which we are reduced ; and the very evil which was in- 
tended to be guarded against, is rising into view and claiming 
existence. 

During the concluding term of the President, for we have 
a sort of common law now upon that subject, the cabinet may 
enter the list, play off their wiley arts, and seek to become 
popular among the senators and representatives, with a view 
to their caucus nomination; who presently again, are to go 
forward and say to the people, who shall take the helm. If in 
candour and sincerity, each should declare what he verily 
believed were the sentiments and wishes of those whom he 
represented, it might then be tolerable ; since it would be 
nothing more than a fair and candid interchange of opinion: 
but no such principle is the rule of action ; each has for his 
object to press his favourite, and to express his own, not the 
opinion of his constituents ; thereby pledging them for that, 
of which they know nothing Indeed such is the state of the 
times, and the condition of feeling, that as great consequence 



( 18 , 

is attached to the opinions of members of Congress, as if the} 
were in fact the oracles and sponsors of the people, controlling 
and governing by their fiat, the decision to be made. To sub- 
mit to it is to be slaves without knowing it. 

It is indeed true that heretofore the caucus nomination has 
succeeded ; but those who made it, expressed rather the 
sentiments of the nation than their own, by presenting those 
who stood most prominently, and to whom the eyes of the 
nation had been previously turned, and to this extent no dan- 
ger threatens. The present epoch, however, presents a new 
state of things ; and it is not now to be expected, that any 
thing to be done by the caucus will prove so satisfactory to 
the nation, as that it will submit. Indeed, such seems to be 
the state of puhlic feeling upon this subject, that it is of doubt- 
ful import, if the man to be put forward by a caucus nomina- 
tion, will not be rather injured than benefitted, attributable 
to the objection which is fast obtaining, that Congress should 
not, because they cannot rightfully interfere : and it is im- 
portant that such an idea should prevail, for if the heads of 
the different departments are to become aspirants to the office 
of chief magistrate, the connexion between them and mem- 
bers may be drawn by such various means, not reconcileablc 
to virtuous and republican principles, as that nothing to the 
country but artifice, corruption and intrigue, can possibly be 
anticipated from it. 

Nor is it less a usurpation for the legislatures of the re- 
spective states to interfere on this subject, unless as has al- 
ready been remarked, they mean by it, only what may be the 
current of opinion with the people whom they represent; if 
so, it is but an interchange of the sentiments of their con- 
stituents ; and in that view is not objectionable. But if it is 
to be considered, what in fact it is considered, a proclama- 
tion of their own, not the general opinion, then is it indeed 
an intolerant usurpation. Some have ventured to exercise 
the nominating power, by telling us who best is qualified ; 
they will next proceed to exercise the confirming power, by 



( 19 ) 

choosing electors in their legislative capacity ; thus taking from 
the people every interference with that which rightfully under 
the constitution belongs to them. Have the Legislature any 
right to the exercise of this power ; and if so, whence do they de- 
rive it? Does the constitution of the United States give it, or 
is it a usurpation growing into existence, rather because the 
people have been silent and submissive, than as being based, 
on any legitimate principle. I may be laughed at by the lead- 
ing men, or rather the designing ones of the country, for dis- 
turbing a course which has been so frequently acquiesced in, and 
which so happily tends to further and aid their selfish and cor- 
rupt designs ; and I may be stopped too, by having the Very 
learned opinion of some great man pointed out to me. Sed 
?iullius magistri, in virba addictus jurare t is my maxim. The 
constitution of my country, like the Holy Bible, is in language 
so plain, as to rest on a level with every capacity. Place it in the 
hands of a man of ordinary intelligence, and although in learn- 
ed metaphor, he might not be able to tell you the various 
changes to be rung upon particular words ; or what glimmer- 
ing shades of difference could arise on the context, with a com- 
ma here, and a colon there, yet would he present you with its 
plain and obvious meaning. It is after the same mode, and 
by comparing the instrument with itself, the conclusion is arri- 
ved at by me, that the Legislature of a state has no right to 
appoint Electors ; and although the practice heretofore has, 
and still does exist in some of the states, it is nevertheless 
usurpation, a right not warranted by the instrument. 

WYOMING 



( 20 y 
X0. IT. 

THE NEXT PRESIDENT : 

AND 

USURPJTION. 

" Each State, (says the constitution,) shall appoint, in such 
manner as the Legislature thereof shall direct, a number of 
Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Repre- 
sentatives to which the state may be entitled in the congress.'' 
Here the Legislature is to direct, and to do no more : it is alone 
made the instrument by which the effect is to be attained ; ca- 
pable only of prescribing the manner by which that effect shall 
be produced, and not of producing the effect itself. The man- 
ner being prescribed, the state, not the Legislature, shall ap- 
point the Electors j a different idea cannot attach, for then a 
different phraseology would be necessary, and such a phrase- 
ology too, as would create a manifest absurdity ; for then must 
it read, and be understood to mean, that the Legislature shall 
appoint, as the Legislature may direct ; a meaning which must 
at first blush, seem manifestly absurd; it would be to make 
the words State and Legislature convertible and synonymous 
terms, which however they may bear that construction in some 
parts of the instrument, cannot be so construed in this parti- 
cular section. If the expression in the Constitution was that the 
Electors from, or in each State, should be appointed as the 
Legislature might direct, its meaning would be altogether dif- 
ferent, and would then be analogous to the fourth section of the 
1st. article, which says, that the " times, places, and manner of 
holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be pre- 
scribed in each state, by the Legislature thereof," for here the 
legislature are authorised and directed to appoint the mode in 
each State; and therefore, were there no other limitation eon 



( 21 ) 

tained in the constitution, might perhaps exercise the power el 
appointment themselves. In the section however relative to 
the election of a president, the context is different : it is not 
that the Electors of each State shajl be appointed as the Legis- 
lature may direct, which might imply a right on their part to 
take the choice from the people and become the exercisers of 
it themselves ; but in language no wise susceptible of doubt or 
ambiguity, it declares, " each State shall appoint" — meaning 

the legitimate, constitutional authorities of the state the 

people ; reserving to the Legislature simply an authority to 

direct the mode the manner after which, it shall be done, 

and nothing more. Suppose an alteration should take place in 
the U. S. Bank charter, and instead of the mode now pre- 
scribed for choosing Directors, it should be ordered, that the 
Bank in future should appoint them, after such manner as the 
Directors and President shall direct \ can it be a matter sus- 
ceptible of argument, that under such an enactment, the Direct- 
ors and President could believe by the use of the term Bank, 
they, and not the Stockholders, were intended and meant, and 
so proceed to reappoint themselves ? Impossible ! And yet this 
is precisely an analogous case, with the expression of the con- 
stitution which relates to the appointment of Electors. The 
truth is, there is a struggle, which though well concealed still 
exists, gradually to undermine the rights of the people ; im- 
perceptibly to trench upon them, and by and by to claim, from 
long acquiescence, that which at the beginning was but usurpa- 
tion. Let the people look to this, and remember, they deserve 
to be, what ere long they will be, slaves, if they suffer them- 
selves to be cajoled out of their rights reserved to them by the 
constitution. I charge ye, as you love your country, surren- 
der none of them; no matter how seemingly unimportant they 
may be, yet should you bear in mind that the attempt to take 
them away, would not be made were it not, that those who are 
seeking to arrest them, hope to use them beneficially ; but above 



( 22 ) 

all should it be borne in mind, that it proves a mean and de- 
generate spirit to surrender to usurpation any right, no matter 
how unimportant and inconsiderable it may be. The man 
who would do it, has no claim to be considered in principle a 
Republican, and merits to be a slave. An humble individual 
who hopes and covets nothing but the preservation of his own 
honour, and the glory of his country, dares to speak to you 
thus, that he may awaken you from your reveries, and save 
you from the menaced grasp and usurpation of those who are 
termed the leading men of the country ! ! 

A state of things greatly to be deplored in a free country, is 
a contest for individual advancement, and promotion to office. 
In the Southern States it has long been customary for gentle- 
men, candidates for appointments to Congress, and the Legis- 
lature, to appear at public places, and in harangues before the 
people, to set forth their own merit and claims to the appoint- 
ment solicited. In some of the Western States the evil has 
gone further ; even for the distinguished office of Governor, 
instances have been witnessed, of persons in nomination riding 
through the country, and in long self complementary speeches 
proclaiming their own worth, wherever they could find a crowd 
gathered. The good and virtuous of the community have con- 
stantly deplored it, through fear of the precedent, and of the 
consequences to which it might ultimately lead. Independent 
however of any of the considerations which a foreboding im- 
agination might suggest, this objection arises, that there is in it 
a prostration of every thing like dignity of character and sen- 
timent: — it proves, that the man who can resort to it, must 
act alone from motive — from selfish considerations, and be 
wanting in those honourable feelings which qualify for the pos- 
session of office. 

However we may deplore, the existence of the evil, as we 
have heretofore seen it practised in the States, the extension 
and enlargement of the practice in latter times renders it still 



( 23 ) 

more a matter of deep regret. It was indeed vicious enough, 
while it moved upon a narrow scale, but dreadful, when per- 
ceived to be reaching forward to the first office known in our 
government j and yet such is in truth and in fact, the goal to 
which it has arrived. 

There are five persons now before the nation for the high 
distinguished, and responsible office of First Magistrate ; and 
with the exception of Jackson, the man who aided his coun- 
try in the Revolution, and who defended, — nay, delivered us 
in our late war of Independence, they are all at the City of 
Washington electioneering, and striving to win upon those who 
are termed the leading men of the country. It is here their 
calculations rest, and it is through this avenue that they look for 
and expect success. Miserable dependence ! And is it come to 
this, that at so early a period of our history, we shall be gravely 
told, the man whom the leading men of the country shall 
be in favour of, shall most probably succeed ; if so, away with 
the right secured by the Constitution ; for an Aristocracy is 
rising in our land, and soon, very scon, the people of this coun- 
try, with all their boasted privileges, will become the mere in- 
struments of the men in power. It will presently come to pass 
that he who wishes to succeed to the first office in the govern- 
ment, will only have to caress and flatter those who by chance 
may constitute the leading men, and the people, kind, gentle 
souls, will be required to become the mere recorders of their 
edicts.' 

Often as the Presidential election has been spoken of, by the 
leading men of the country, doubt and uncertainty seem 
manifested, as to the person most likely to succeed ; but uni- 
formerlv has this remark been heard, — " could the people vote 
for themselves; for the man they prefer, Jackson would, to 
use the common phrase, beat the whole ; but as the Electors 
are intermediate agents between the people, and the person elec- 
ted, the leading men will control the result." Attend to the 



( 24 ) 

xemark, you who love your country, and say what, in plain un» 
varnished language, does it mean ? Does it intend either more 
or less than this, that your republican institutions are rapidly on 
the decline, and that men, not principles govern. The sceptre 
of power is rapidly passing from you, and in a few years, you 
shall lose the name, and feelings, and character of freemen, and 
become the humble gondaleers of some contemptible Doge, 
whose only claim may be, that he possesses address, and by the 
patronage which his situation enabled him to extend, attached 
to himself the leading men of the country, while they dictated 
to the people what was right, and what they should do. 

It is matter of deep regret, to perceive that intrigue and 
management have so important an agency in the concerns and 
affairs of our government. The virtuous and retiring man, is 
cast into the shade, while he who has friends to puff, or who 
being without them, will come forward the trumpeter of his 
own fancied good qualities, moves prosperously on. Every 
thing now is seen " as through a glass darkly," and nothing real 
or substantial is to be found. The politicians of the country 
put on appearances of wondrous wisdom, without the certain- 
ty from anv quarter, save from themselves, that they claim 
rightfully. Learned arguments and speeches upon great sub- 
jects, are exhibited to the people, which in fact were never 
made ; and supplications for Divine mercy, go forth from the 
mouths and pens of those high in office, who never felt what 
religion was. It is downright hypocrisy and deceit, intended 
for momentary eclat, and to be turned when occasion may 
make it necessary, to the profit of him who practises it. Mo- 
desty is altogether out of fashion, — impudence is mistaken for 
independence, and perverseness and obstinacy, for firmness of 
political character. 

It is not to be expected that perfection should exist any 
where ; there is such a thing however as vice coming below 
that standard, which common sense, under a virtuous influ- 



I 25 ) 

cnce, would sanction. In governments, where prevails the 
maxim that one man is born with claims and rights superior to 
another, purity is not to be looked for. In those countries, 
where the yielding credulity of the people leads to the belief, 
that one Being is destined to rule, and another to obey, with- 
out venturing to enquire how it is, that nature even in her 
sportive moments, could bring about such strange results, it is 
not to be wondered at, that corruption and depravity should 
exist. The rulers, of necessity, must resort to varied manage- 
ment, to keep up the delusion, and to maintain their authority, 
while the people from early habit and education, are brought 
to the conclusion, that it is their duty to submit ; but in a coun- 
try like ours, where none of those de jure rights exist, where 
merit alone constitutes a difference ; and where all, and every 
one, may rise to any office in the government, '* 'tis strange, 
'tis wonderful indeed," that thoughtlessly they should yield 
themselves to the leading men of the country, or indeed to any 
influence, save their own free and unbiassed judgments ; — dan" 
gerous results may spring from such submission. 

It is a little unfortunate, perhaps, that we should be so often 
told of the dangers with which we are threatened ; or a mis- 
fortune rather, that causes should exist to create apprehension. 
It will presently be as the fable of the shepherd's boy and the 
wolf, and perhaps it may already be the case, that danger be- 
ing so frequently announced, we set by quietly and at ease, pre- 
suming it another false alarm. I assure you, there are no wo- 
man's fears with me, for oft as any have I laughed at the idle 
pretended forebodings of those shallow designing politicians, 
who seek to catch the public ear, by clamours in favour of li- 
berty outraged, and who imagine they perceive clouds and 
storms to be constantly hovering about the Constitution : they 
have been laughed at, because in their prophetic warning was 
to be discerned, more of design than truth, — more of fiction 
than reality,— conjured phantoms from the brain of some dis- 



( 26 ) 

warded possessor, or anxious expectant of office, whose trem- 
bling appn-hensions for his country were bounded only by the 
limited horizon of self: and such too have been my feelings 
and thoughts, in perceiving on the floor of Congress, some 
towering genius of the radical school, anticipating and prophe- 
sying danger to the liberty of the country, from a partial in- 
crease of the Tariff, or from an army of six thousand men ; or 
who in argument for prostrating the important defences of the 
country, is found preaching up economy, and declaring chains 
to be forging for the people, because of his own imaginary 
wasting of the public money. Such things disturb me not, 
since it has always appeared a kind of arch captandum popalos 
course, intended to aid some covert self design. These things 
may be looked to, with neither fear nor trembling j but to be- 
hold virtue and principle languishing, and vice and intrigue 
moving prosperously ; when no matter how direlict men may 
be, in the great cause of morals and social duty, they can yet 
obtain friends and numerous supporters, my fears are awaken- 
ed for the consequences, and a belief entertained that time will 
rather add to, than diminish the evil j if so, who should not be 
alarmed, that bears with him this indisputable principle, that a 
government like the United States, when it ceases to be based 
upon virtue, must of necessity cease to endure. 

Let no man arrogate to himself, the right of determining for 
others what things are proper, and what not ; such an assump- 
tion will not be ventured on by me, yet may I presume to say, 
there was a time, when he who was looked to, as aspiring to 
the chief control of this country, would, had he been found 
courting and fawning, and caressing for the office, have been 
3purned indignantly by the whole nation ; in those times faith- 
ful service and incorruptible integrity were the sure passport to 
a people's love, for then did virtue and high minded principle 
prevail : yet such are the changes, in a few years produced, that 
gentlemen are found soliciting for themselves, — journeying 



( n ) 

through the country, — figuring at a rout, and like a courtezan 
who woos and wins by her smiles, practising their sweet 
blandishments, to obtain through the few, the confidence of 
the many. Who is there in this nation not desirous, that 
the institutions, under which he and his fathers have lived 
and been blessed, shall be maintained in their original purity, 
after the plan the constitution designed ? Of what importance 
is it, by what name a government shall be distinguished ? 
Will the mere calling it a republic make it one ? Assuredly 
not. That alone is a Republican government, where not only 
the theory, but the practice in pursuance of that theory, are 
in perfect accord ; and should the constitution of a country, 
on every page, proclaim that all men are born free and equal, 
and to the possession and enjoyment of equal rights and pri- 
vileges, if by the men in office, powers be claimed which 
Were never granted, or exercised through the submissive ac- 
quiescence of the people, then is it not a republic ; it is but 
the name ; it is nothing more than slavery in disguise, and is 
*« no less bitter on that account. ,? Does the power confided 
to congress authorise, by either expression or implication, a 
right in the members to dictate to the people who shall be 
President ? It does not. Nor does it give to the Legislatures 
of the States, authority to appoint electors, and thereby to 
do, what rightfully by the fair and express meaning of terms 
belongs to the people. Let the nation then be on the watch, 
and assert their rights whatever they be, lest that, which is 
now usurpation, may bye and bye become oppression. 

If in any portion of our country one could be found, who 
by his inflexibility of character, and stern republican purity 
could restore the nation to those principles which once it had, 
but from which I fear 'tis fast departing, most cheerfully 
should I extend to him my best wishes; and more than this, 
being without influence in the political world, would not be 
within my power. If there be any such, I am persuaded he 
is to be found in the person of Andrew Jackson! Turning 
aside from all the considerations which have been urged ; hi 4 - 

i 



( 28 > 

services in the struggle of the Revolution, his bold and daring 
efforts in his country's cause during our second contest for 
liberty, and there are still additional circumstances in his fa- 
vour. He stands aloof from all the contemptible intrigue and 
management of the day, he is not seen soliciting for the office. 
On nothing is he committed, and to none is he under obliga- 
tion for the distinguished stand which he occupies in life. No 
parasite claims rest against him; he will be left free to ad- 
minister the government, as his judgment and prudence may 
direct, and to call into employment, being pledged to none, 
the most intelligent and virtuous part of the community. Of 
these things our leading men are already aware, and hence 
it is, that those who can rest their claims to preferment alone 
on the wiley intrigues which distinguish them at home, stand 
in opposition to him, and manoeuvre to impress their opinions 
en the people. Those, however, who expect nothing, and 
Who desire nothing, but to see their country sustained on those 
principles of purity and virtue, which the constitution sanc- 
tions, will surely weigh well previously to deciding, and ra- 
ther lean in favour of that man, who has protected and de- 
fended the country, than to those aspirants, who when she 
was wrapped in war and danger were quietly at their fire- 
sides, and heard of battles only through the columns of a 
newspaper : those persons, who now, when self-aggrandize- 
ment is at hand, pretend to great devotion and love for their 
country. Where were they at the moment of peril and dan- 
ger ? " Home, home, I say ;" certainly not in the field, en- 
countering exposure, privation, and hardships : Where Jack- 
son was, let a protected nation answer. 

I maintain, as an everlasting truth, that without virtue, li- 
berty cannot exist — they are handmaids and sisters that dwell 
together, and that will not, eannot, be separated. Govern- 
ment may exist, and may be maintained, where a whole nation 
is lost to virtuous feeling, but it is not in such a land as ours., 
where all power rests with, and emanates from, the people. 
When once the source of power becomes corrupted, all its 



( w ) 

Emanations must and will become vicious. "Wliile the people 
shall maintain the rights secured to them, and exercise them 
virtuously, we may stand aloof from danger and from unplea- 
sant apprehensions ; but so soon as, regardless of their pri- 
vileges, they permit the leading men of the country, to dictate 
what is proper, and point out to them, who shall be ostracised 
to day, and hosannaed to-morrow, they may bid " a long 
farewell to all their greatness." We should elect men for 
their virtues — their faithful service — their fidelity to our re- 
publican principles and institutions; and above all, press for- 
ward to confidence and favour that man who may have shown 
himself above all price in sacrifices made for his country, 
and in the vindication of her rights. Wl»en this shall be the 
case, we may be said to be a virtuous and reflecting people, 
and fear no ill. When a man presents himself for office, the 
inquiry made is, Is he a republican ? Why ? Because we 
feel that We can then repose freely on him. Believing him 
so from principle, we believe he will be true and faithful; 
will not betray us, and will place the safety, and honour, and 
advancement of his country, above all price. But after what 
manner shall we determine that any man is a republican ? by 
his words ? they are '« empty brass and tinkling sound," and 
any and all aspirants will fain assert their pretensions to the 
name. 

But conduct deceives not, for all can read it. Let the na- 
tion answer then, where amongst them is there a republican 
like Andrew Jackson ? Does he love his country ? Let a 
head grown grey, a constitution impaired in the service of 
that country, declare ! Let our protected borders, saved from 
Indian barbarity, and the slaughtered thousands of Europe's 
chosen veterans, oh the plains of New Orleans, proclaim. 
Had one wanting in fidelity to his trust and love to his coun- 
try, been the acting agent and defender there, it needs no 
** spirit voice" to tell, Britain might have reached her pur- 
pose, unannoyed by danger. Jackson's pretensions on the 



( 30 ) 

score of fidelity ami attachment cannot be questioned, and to 
him a debt of gratitude is due, which this nation can never 

fully repay. 

WYOMING, 



THE NEXT PRESIDENT 

AND 

ANDREW JJLCKSON. 

Unceasing are the efforts of the leading men of the couii- 
try, to impress on the public mind a belief, that Genera! 
Jackson is possessed of such violence and warmth of temper, 
as to render it unsafe, that the affairs of this nation should 
be confided to his hands. The strength and vigour of his 
intellect, his quickness of perception, and ready decision, 
are qualities, which those who are opposed to him, even his 
enemies do not question, yet deny that he has sufficient pru- 
dence and discretion for s6 high a trust. If, say they, war 
shall come upon us, to him, with one consent should the na- 
tion look, to take charge of her armies, and to defend her 
rights ; but for peace and for the Cabinet, he is not qualified, 
because of the impetuosity of a temper, which must often 
lead his judgment astray, and which, were he President of 
the United States, might have a tendency to involve us in 
difficulties. Such is the language, and such the objection 
which the leading men of the country are heard to urge, and 
Which exist rather in fancy than in fact. The imputation is 
destitute of accuracy, — is not warranted by truth ; and even 
if it were true, to the extent urged, although the nation 
might and should feel unwilling to confide her rights or ex- 
tend her patronage, to one deficient in discretion, still that 



( 31 ) 

any thing prejudicial to the repose of the country could re- 
sult, is hut one of fancy's visions. It resolves itself into thisj 
that they would trust the lives of twenty or thirty thousand 
citizens (soldiers) with a general, who wanting in prudence, 
would keep them in constant hazard of being cut to pieces ; 
and they would confide the honour, safety and protection of 
the Country, amidst the battle's strife, when all the high 
qualities of the mind are most needed, to one, so destitute 
of prudence and discretion, as to be deemed unfit to direct 
and govern in times of perfect tranquillity. What sort of 
miserable logic is this? And what man can use it, unless he 
be deficient in reason, or in some manner under the influence 
of motive. The import and meaning of it, is literally this ; 
in times the most trying and difficult, when life itself is at 
stake, the fortunes of every citizen at hazard : when the re- 
putation of wives and daughters is open to assault, violence, 
and ruin ; the Constitution and every thing dear at peril, 
then will we have confidence entire in this man, and while 
he shall fight our battles, we will sleep securely, not doubt- 
ing of his judgment and discretion; but danger over we will 
consign him to retirement, and seek, in bestowing the honours 
of the country, for some fire-side patriot, who may call him- 
self a Republican, and who, the leaders, having an eye to their 
own advancement, may say is a very discreet and prudent 
toian. 

As evidence of his irrascible nature, it is frequently said, 
and has indeed become somewhat a text upon the subject, 
that during the Seminole inquiry at Washington, in 1819, he 
threatened " to cut off the ears" of an honourable Senator in 
Congress. It is not pretended, however, that any of our dis- 
tinguished counsellors ever came to such a mishap, and as 
Jackson is a man who generally keeps his word, most likely 
the charge is not well made ; but suppose it to be true, if 
the member did or said what was improper, or was calculated 
to produce excitement, he was as responsible as any private 
gentleman ; and his being a Senator, to me, gives the threat. 



( 32 ) 

sf made, no higher character or consequence. The consti* 
€ution, it is true, protects congress in their official course^ 
and for this very reason should a member forbear to interfere 
with the private rights and character of a citizen. The man 
who is possessed of correct feelings and sentiments, will not 
exercise his privilege improperly, and to the injury and abuse 
of others ; if he will, let him be held responsible ; there is 
no reason why it should be otherwise. With private matters, 
however, I have nothing to do, because they are in no wise 
material; of them I know nothing; my object is to speak in 
relation to those incidents and transactions which have been 
published, and made known to the nation, and by them to as- 
certain the merits of this distinguished man. 

There is but one mode by which accurately to test the 
pretensions of individuals to judgment, prudence, and good 
sense, — it is to look to the several situations in which they 
have been called publicly to aet, and mark after what man- 
ner they may have acquitted themselves. Men of ordinary 
capacity, with a proper degree of Cautious self-command, arc 
often times found to pass through life with credit and suc> 
cess: there is nothing so liable to be misjudged asthequali 
ficalions and qualities of the head and heart. It is an old 
remark and a very true one, that no man appears the same 
to the world and to his valet; it is, because the defects he may 
have, are by the one perceived, while to others, who seldom 
see him, they are concealed ; but let a person of this charac- 
ter be t-hrown out of his negative course in life, and forthwith 
will his imbecility and weakness become manifest. Take, on 
the other hand, a man of genius and talent — place him amidst 
trials, and surround him with difficulties; let him be in the 
noise and the bustle of a camp, contending with disturbances 
in his own ranks, and against the vigilance and enterprise of 
an enemy ; and although he may not remain quiet and un- 
ruffled under such circumstances, yet that he is no wise de- 
ficient in discretion or judgment, or led astray by passion, 
will be well established bv the faef, that he never afforded 



( 33 ) 

opportunities even to a dexterous enemy to obtain over him 
material advantages. 

Under circumstances the most discouraging has it been the 
fortune of General Jackson to be placed ; and yet no evil 
resulted, — no advantage was obtained over him ; he was uni- 
formly successful, in what he attempted. Numerous are the 
instances recorded in his Biography, which show how effec- 
tually he surmounted difficulties of the most trying kind ; 
and yet he is considered, or rather said to be, so controlled 
by temper, and wanting in prudence, as to make it unsafe, 
that the government of the nation should be trusted with him. 
I have before remarked, that to call a man a republican, 
did not constitute him one ; it is too important an appellation, 
for the aspirants of this country not to assume ; yet to deter- 
mine how far the name may be justly assumed, it is necessary 
to look to conduct ; for while words may be distorted into 
any shape, and made to convey any idea, conduct speaks a 
language easy to be understood, and which the dullest ob- 
server cannot misconceive. If by this rule, the only correct 
one, the claims of Andrew Jackson, to prudence, discretion, 
judgment, and republican purity, be tested, no man in this 
nation can have them better established. 

The battle of the eighth of January, threw such a lustre 
around the victor's brow, as to cause all his previous mili- 
tary acts to retire into shade ; it was indeed a result never 
to be forgotten ; but in the campaigns against the Indians, 
Jackson did, in a most extraordinary degree, display all 
those high qualities which mark the consummate gene- 
ral. From a sick bed he rose to meet and repel Indian 
barbarity. During his efforts in that service, and which 
in the end terminated the war, no man had greater diffi- 
culties to overcome. His army twice under revolt, and 
twice by his prudent management brought back to duty and to 
efficiency, is conclusive evidence of his boldness and strength 
of mind — of his promptness and knowledge of man as he is, 



( 34 ) 

f— Never shall I forget the glow of feeling produced upon 
me, at reading in his " Life" one of those accounts. His 
army was threatened with starvation ; supplies were exhausted, 
and Indian corn alone remained for their subsistence ; in this 
situation disaffection had reached the bosom even of the stern- 
est patriot, and with one consent they had resolved to forsake 
the contest and return home. Jackson, aware of the desola- 
tion and ruin to which the frontiers must be exposed, should 
he be compelled to abandon his post and surrender the cam- 
paign, determined to leave nothing unassayed to prevent it. 
Explanation, argument, and hope of speedy relief, had been re- 
sorted to, and exhausted. A spirit of discontent still prevail- 
ed : a determination was had to return, and already were the 
troops in readiness to depart. Under this discouraging state of 
things, the General appeared before them, and in an impassion- 
ed address, appealed to their bravery, and to the services they 
had rendered ; told them of the danger to which the unprotect- 
ed inhabitants of the frontiers would be exposed, should they 
persist in an abandonment of the service ; finding at last that 
every thing of pacific overture was at an end, and that nothing- 
could avail, to arrest their march, and prevent their return, he 
' threw himself in front of the columns ; pointed them to the ar- 
tillery posted in a defile, through which they were to pass, sup- 
ported by two companies who alone remained faithful, and de- 
clared that only through carnage should they retire : Success 
attended him, and they returned to their corps. Does this look 
like want of judgment, and want of prudence ? His last appeal 
was to be sure hazardous, but it was one of those extraordina- 
ry occasions where extraordinary efforts were necessary, and 
the result proved that it was well done. 

Does the conduct he pursued towards Weatherford, a distin- 
guished warrior of the Creeks, carry with it any appearance 
of rashness, passion or imprudence ; or is there not a magna- 
nimity about it, creditable alike to the head and to the heart ? 



( 35 ) 

Weatherford had been an active and leading chief — he had 
lighted up the war, and led the assault against Fort Mimms, 
where was given that first and severe blow, in which men, wo- 
men and children had been butchered. Jackson had determined 
that he should atone for this rash and unprovoked deed ; and 
when the Indians, dispirited by their frequent defeats — their 
nation almost destroyed, came to ask for peace, the surrender 
of their Chief was required as a condition. Weatherford, ap- 
prised of it, formed the determination to make of himself a vo- 
luntary surrender : he left his retreat, and, undiscovered in 
his person, gained admission to Jackson's tent. " I am Wea- 
therford*, said he, who led the attack against Fort Mimms. I 
have come to ask peace for my couttry : my warriors are all 
slain, and I can fight you no longer. I am a soldier, and in 
your power, where of my own accord I have placed myself: — 
do with me as you please ; but give peace to my country :" 
Struck by the brave and noble conduct of this child of the fo- 
rest, Jackson extended to him pardon, and an assurance of 
safetv ! Again ; at one of those disastrous conflicts of his, had 
with the Indians, an infant, found resting on the bosom of its 
mother, who had been accidentally slain in battle, was brought 
to him ; he instantly received it, became its protector, and 
reared it. A heart, where passion and misruling temper reign- 
ed, would surely not have those finer feelings of nature entwin- 
ed about it. 

Other incidents of his history, particularly at New Orleans, 
clearly prove him a man of cool and dispassionate judgment, 
quick in his perceptions, judicious in preparation, and in exe- 
cution every way prompt and efficient : the possession of these 
qualities none have denied him ; but it is here again, that the 
leading men of the country think they are enabled to trace out, 
indications of rashness, of violence, and of temper ; and what 
are they ? I would fain say to them, lay aside for a moment 
any selfish considerations you may have, your prejudices and 

5 



( 36 ) 

motives, and " come let us reason together." Do you find 
your assertions true, in the rapidity with which he concentra- 
ted his feeble army, and gave battle to the enemy, before they 
had time to repose on our soil, thereby manifesting a skill and 
prudence, which all have admitted was of a bold and masterly 
character; or does it argue indiscretion, and want of judg- 
ment, after this first and salutary impression was made, by 
which time, so important to him, was gained, that he should 
fall back, entrench himself, and act defensively. The enemy 
had for their object to gain a country; 'twas Jackson's to de- 
fend one ! Boldness was the track for them to tread ; pru- 
dence and caution his ; to him time and delay were every thing; 
to them nothing beneficial ; and time was obtained through 
this early impression made at the moment of their landing, and 
by his subsequently concealing from them all knowledge of 
the fewness and unarmed condition of his troops. High hand- 
ed measures and caution alone could have secured to him be- 
neficial results ; and they were secured. 

But he dared to proclaim martial law j to put in confinement 
a District Judge of the United States, and a member of the 
legislature of Louisiana, and thus to violate the constitution. 
Most true ! he did violate the constitution ; of this none have 
ever doubted, nor has Jackson himself even pretended to say 
otherwise. His language upon that occasion, has always been 
satisfactory to me, and such as every patriot bosom will sanc- 
tion, when again we are involved in war. " I had," said he, 
" to lay aside constitutional forms, that the constitution itself 
might be preserved." It was a matter about which so decisive 
a man as Jackson, could not long consider ; it was necessary 
to lay aside the constitution, or lose the country ; and thus 
situated, he ought not to have hesitated ; the one could be re- 
sumed, without material injury ; but the other lost, could only 
be regained through a profuse sacrifice of blood and treasure. 
Washington would have done the same. The reflecting men 



( 37 ) 

of the country have admitted, that without those strong mea- 
sures New Orleans could not have been defended ; why then, 
should this be complained of, and rested upon, as ground of ob- 
jection ? or why should acts, whence such essential good has 
arisen, be relied on, to prove the author of them deficient in 
coolness, judgment, and prudence. The measures he resorted 
to, are admitted to have given safety and protection to the coun- 
try, without them defeat must have ensued, and yet our lead- 
ing men refer to, and rely on them, as evidence of any thing 
and every thing, but cool calculating judgment; such reason- 
ing as this " is contrary to all rule, my lords," and the honest 
yeomanry of this nation can never unite or yield thereto their 
assent. 

WYOMING. 



Xo. YI. 

THE NEXT PRESIDENT 

AND 

ANDREW JACKSON. 

How is it possible for any man in his march through life, on 
all great occasions, where he is called to act, to sustain himself 
with incomparable ability, and yet be considered deficient 
in judgment, prudence, and coolness, is to me unaccountably 
strange : they are things so'obviously contradictory, as to make 
it impossible they should exist together. In addition to those 
facts and circumstances already adverted to, which show that 
the character and qualities imputed to Andrew Jackson by the 
leading men of the country are not his, there are others 
equally tending to the same conclusion ; indeed, at almost 
every page of his life, is there some incident to prove him in 



( 38 ) 

all the high qualities of our nature, a most extraordinary man. 
Example is everv where at hand, to establish, that one man has 
genius for this, and another for that pursuit ; a good lawyer 
may prove a bad politician, or indifferent judge ; and an emi- 
nen statesman, make a wretched display of his talents and use- 
fulness on the field of battle ; but as a general rule, and liable 
to as few exceptions as any, may it be assumed, that he who 
has signally distinguished himself in battle ; and led uniformly 
to victory, has afforded evidence of those superior qualities of 
mind, which fit the possessor for any pursuit to which he may 
turn his attention. To be able even to keep together, and to 
render partially efficient, a body of militia, requires a high effort 
of mind and judgment; but to expose them, before a powerful 
enemy, to hardships and difficulties, and at the same time to 
guard them from discontents, and preserve them in the line of 
their duty, demands a soundness and strength of capacity which 
xnay be turned to usefulness, in any situation and under any 
circumstances. Few highly distinguished military men have 
failed to make good statesmen ; the peculiar cast of thought 
and judgment, necessary to constitute the one, eminently quali- 
fies for the other. 

The preparations which necessarily devolved upon Gen. Jack- 
son, on his arrival at New Orleans, were of a character, to 
require all the energy of the most active mind ; great as they 
were he met them fully, and to the satisfaction of his country. 
He succeeded through his sterness and decision of character, in 
awing doubting and traitorous feelings ; and by his boldness 
inspired the timid with confidence. Amidst the variety of 
facts and circumstances, which the history of that period pre- 
sents, it cannot be necessary to resort to argument ; or to do 
more, than refer to the facts themselves, to prove, that for abil- 
ity, caution^ decision and prudence, no man deserve a place su- 
perior to Andrew Jackson. The circumstance alone of his re- 
tiring after his first assault upon the enemy, on the 23d of Dec. 



( 39 ) 

and on trenching himself, whence all their arts and cunning were 
ineffectual to allure him, would be sufficient; but when the nu- 
merous circumstances of the siege are looked to, the assertion is 
too well established to render argument necessary to prove it. 

The morning of the 8th of January, when the British were 
repelled with such dreadful slaughter, was certainly a moment, 
of all others, when a general under the guidance of his feelings 
might have adopted a policy adverse to that which Jackson pur- 
sued. The ranks of the enemy were mown down, panic pre- 
vailed, and confusion every where existed ; not a retreat but a 
rout had taken place; at this moment indiscretion and high toned 
feeling might have sanctioned an order to press on the rear, and 
attempt the capture of the invading army. The pride adherent 
to such a result, would have prompted to pursuit with most 
commanders ; yet Jackson's caution, and an ambition which 
was limited by a desire of effecting that only, which might 
prove beneficial to his country, not himself, restrained him, 
under all the circumstances of advantage which the moment 
gave, from attempting aught, at variance with the course, which 
safety and his situation seemed to sanction. His object was 
security to his troops, protection to the city, and he had attain- 
ed both. He had arrested the progress of the enemy, stayed 
them in their march to rapine and violence, — repelled them in 
their purpose, and extended deliverance to the inhabitants; 
these objects being effected, the victory was complete, and the 
capture of the retreating columns could not have made it more 
so ; while on the other hand, an attempt at more, might have 
endangered every thing. 

But against all those circumstances, so advantageous to the 
country, and so creditable to their author, and which intitle him 
fairly to stand next by the side of W ashington, objections with 
a view to detract from his merit, are urged by the leading men. 
They tell you, he declared martial law, and outraged perso- 
nal rights, by the arrest of a judge and a member of the legis- 



( 40 ) 

lature, which prove that he has too much temper, and is defi- 
cient in that prudence which the chief magistrate of this nation 
should possess. The promulgation of martial law, though ad- 
mitted to be against the provisions of the constitution, yet on 
the ground of expediency and utility has never been question- 
ed. If then, in its origin it can be justified, all the conse- 
quences to which it gave birth will be equally susceptible of de- 
fence. To have hesitated as to its details, and to have permit- 
ted under any plea whatever, a violation of its injunctions, af- 
ter it had been declared, would have been the veriest folly in 
the world. Had some individual moving in the humbler walks 
of life, aggressed the injunctions of this high handed measure, 
serious complaints, most probable, would never have been 
made, but that persons should be placed in arrest of such high 
distinction as a judge and a member of the legislature, was a 
crime so monstrous, that the cry of temper, tyranny, and op- 
pression was forthwith raised, and is yet continued ; and it 
will continue, until the motive which induces it, the Presiden- 
tial election shall be over : our leading men will then be quiet. 
On this subject my feelings are at rest, and I can, and do, ad- 
mire the character of Jackson much more highly, than 
would have been the case had he seized upon some obscure in- 
dividual, and offered him an example to the violated rules of 
his camp. 

In declaring martial law, General Jackson never did consi- 
der that he acted otherwise than in violation of the constitu- 
tion. He never excused the act ; he only justified it ; and this 
too on the ground of necessity. His declarations made before 
the court when he was arraigned and punished for an act which 
entitled him rather to thanks than censure, is the best evidence 
of the light in which he viewed it j and let that be appealed 
to. When brought before the court he presented his defence, 
and from it is this language extracted;* "Under a solemn 

Life of Jackson, page 416. 



( 41 ) 

conviction that the country committed to my care, could only 
be saved from ruin — under a religious belief that I was per- 
forming a most impi rtant and sacred duty, I did proclaim mar- 
tial law. It was a measure intended to supersede such civil 
powers as in their operation interfered with those I was oblig- 
ed to exercise. At such a moment constitutional forms, I 
thought, should be suspended, for the permanent preservation 
of constitutional rights ; and that there could be no question 
whether it were best to depart, lor a moment, from the enjoy- 
ment of our dearest rights, or have them wrested from us for- 
ever. If the civil magistrate were permitted to exercise his 
usual functions, none of the measures necessary to avert the 
awful fate that threatened us, could be expected. Personal li- 
berty could not exist at a time when every man was required 
to be a soldier. To have suffered the uncontrolled enjoyment of 
constitutional right, at such a time, and under such circum- 
stances, would have been to abandon the defence of the coun- 
try." 

He considered the promulgation of martial law, essentially 
necessary to security; and the prevailing opinion of the country 
was then, and yet is with him. When therefore was discovered, 
seemingly a concerted plan, with the civil organ of the govern- 
ment, to lay prostrate a system which he believed could alone 
sustain, and bear him through the hazardous conflict, in which 
he was engaged, it was well done of him to resist it; and it 
was well done of him too, to offer up the most distinguished 
persons, as examples, to prevent any recurrence of the evil. 
Shame on the man, who, to enforce his authority, shall seize 
and sacrifice the feeble and the friendless ; and honour to him, 
who in support of what he believes to be just and correct, is 
bold enough to test it with those in power ; men who have 
friends, and wealth, and office to assist them : the noble spirit 
that dictates such a course is enviable, and worthy to be imi- 
tated. 



( 42 ) 

And what is there, after all, in this martial law, and its in- 
cidents, of the heinous character that has been imputed ? What 
is there about it, to prove the author governed by any impro- 
per feeling, or as manifesting a disposition to bear himself in 
tyrannic sway ? Strip it of the false and glossy drapery with 
which motive and designing persons have encircled it, and into 
what does it resolve itself; simply into this — that when the 
judge interposed his habeas corpus, instead of yielding to it, 
which he should not have done, he arrested the judge and put 
him — not in gaol, sir, but sent above the city, and without the 
lines of his encampment, where he was left, with this order 
placed in his hands : " I have thought proper to send you be- 
" yond the limits of my encampment, to prevent a repetition 
" of the improper conduct with which you have been charged. 
" You will remain without the line of my sentinels, until the 
" ratification of peace is regularly announced, or until the Bri- 
u tish shall have left the southern coast." The judge well 
knew the character of Jackson, and that he must not violate 
the order. The course pursued was essential and necessary 
to the quiet of the army, and to the safety of the country. The 
author of his Biography remarks, " He did this believing he 
was right in the declaration of martial law, and that the good 
sense of judge Hall should at so momentous a period have 
taught him a different course. He did it, because disposed to 
give complete effect to his measures — to silence opposition, 
and satisfy the refractory and the designing that judicial inter- 
ference should not mar the execution of his plans of defence, 
or afford a screen behind which treason might stalk unmolest- 
ed. He did it to make the example effectual, and to obtain 
through fear, that security, which could not be had through 
love of country."* A wonderful manifestation of violence 
and temper, to be sure ! God grant, should peril again assail 

* Eaton and Ried's "Life of Jackson/' page 381. 



( 43 ) 

us, tfiat we may find some bold commander ready and wil- 
ling to make precisely as strong a demonstration of his tem- 
per as did Jackson on this occasion, and whatever may be the 
fate of such a man, while resting in the belief, that his con- 
duct is based on the noble design of aiding, assisting, and de- 
fending his country, he shall at least have the thanks and 
good wishes of one humble individual in it* 

If the " Life or* Jackson 1 * be examined, drawn as it is be» 
lieved by a faithful hand, much will appear for admiration, 
but little for censure ; and whether the conduct he pursued as 
a statesman, or a soldier, be examined, the same superior traits 
of character are still discoverable. He has progressed regu- 
larly through office ; reared to the bar, he maintained a dis- 
tinguished stand in his profession, — passed to the bench, and 
sustained himself with reputation there. In 1798, became a 
member of the United States Senate, from which situation he 
soon retited. From that time, until the declaration of war in 
1812, he was in retirement, a farmer and a private citizen, so- 
liciting no place or office whatever. At this period, he appear- 
ed again before the public ; and sustained, not by the general 
government, but, by his own ardor, and the patriotism of his 
state, obtained for himself the elevation which justly his coun- 
try has conceded him. The uniform tenor of his " life" pro- 
claims him a steady, undeviating Republican; devotedly at- 
tached to our form of government, and to the principles of the 
constitution, spurning indignantly, every attempt that looks 
after popularity, or self advancement. Who that loves his 
country, should not desire to see her governed by such a 
Patriot. 

In the remarks which I have ventured to submit to the pub- 
lic, my desire has been alone to excite enquiry. Were the 
choice free, Jackson would require no factitious aid, for his 
virtues and high qualities are known to the nation ; they have 

been exerted for the public good, in times the most critical 

6 



( 44 > 

and perilous. What has been urged, is not to prove him pos- 
sessed of that Republican purity, which accords with our in- 
stitutions, and which this nation, as it hopes for safety and 
happiness, should never cease to prize : of this he has already 
given too many and abundant proofs, for it now to be ques- 
tioned or doubted > the only object is to awaken the people 
to thought and to reflection, that coolly and dispassionately 
they may decide, who has shown himself possessed in the 
highest, of energy, judgment, and necessary qualifications, and 
to whom should be confided the guardianship of our dearest 
rights. It is matter of importance, a question of high con- 
sideration, demanding in the examination that prejudice and 
partiality should be laid aside. We may love our friend, but 
we should love our country more, nor permit in so momen- 
tous a subject our friendships and our feelings at all to min- 
gle ; and still less, for it is disreputable, should any man sup- 
port the pretensions of his favourite and friend, from the hope 
of future favours to himself. 

God help the man condemned by cruel fate, 
To court the seeming, or the real great ; 
Much sorrow shall he feel, and even more, 
, Than any slave, who labours at the oar. 

If merit and correct principles are to be regarded in this 
country, as the test of promotion — the only passport to office, 
we shall be without any just foundation or complaint or ap- 
prehension j but it intrigue and management are to have the 
effect of running upon the confidence of the people, we shall 
have cause to fear, for the tendency of such a course will be to 
put aside, from time to time, persons who may have superior 
merit, but who, from principle and modest feeling, may be 
restrained from pressing themselves forward. 

The practice of electioneering for office, and particularly 
for that which is first in the gift of the nation, is not only ri- 



{ 45 ) 

diculous, but dangerous : and none, who is a republican in 
principle, and at heart, can, or will resort to it. The man who 
is fit and qualified for this distinguished post, should previous- 
ly, and for a long time, be known to the country — known for 
his fidelity to her institutions, and devotion to her interest 
and advancement. He should be like the tall and towering 
oak, which by overtopping the surrounding forest, can be des- 
cried at a distance, and judged of without a near approach. 
Such was the course of proceeding when Washington assum- 
ed the execution of this high trust, and heaven grant it could 
be always assumed in the self same way. Things to be sure, 
are somewhat different now ; we had, at the close of our revo- 
lution, many distinguished and valuable men; but we had but 
one Washington. That he loved his country all knew, for he 
had encountered a thousand hardships and dangers for her ; 
that he would watch over her interest and guard her rights, 
none doubted, because he had already given proofs of his at- 
tachment too strong to be questioned. But every proof of 
devotion and love of country, that Washington gave, has been 
equally afforded by Jackson, and in saying so, no injustice is 
done to the merits of the former. In the same war in which 
Washington fought and was victorious, did Jackson fight and 
bleed j while in her second struggle h . preserved for his coun* 
try that independence, which, through the valour and pru- 
dence of Washington, had been originally acquired. With 
the same purity prevailing now, as did prevail at the close o£ 
our revolutionary struggle, the people would look to Jackson 
as that tall oak which had towered far above the surrounding 
forest ; but our tests and principles are of late so changed, 
that to have made some boisterous speech in Congress, or to 
have sailed across the Atlantic to a foreign court, at a salary 
of S9000 a year, is considered confirmation strong enough, 
of love of country and of republican fitness. The hero of Or- 
leans is at home, asking for nothing— desiring nothing, and 



( 46 ) 

for that alone should lie be preferred to those who are im- 
modestly urging their own pretensions, and intriguing for suc- 
cess : like Cincmnatus, he is on his farm and at his plough, 
contented and willing to remain there, yet willing too to leave 
it, if called to do so by the voice of his country. 

The leading men, have seen enough of Jackson, to know 
and understand his character ; the honest and the faithful will 
have nothing to apprehend from his installation to power, but 
those who calculate on success from the practice of their lit- 
tle arts, their intrigue and cunning; those l;izy drones who 
hang on office, sucking in the sustenance of the country, will 
in vain seek for favour and approbation from such a man. It 
is these, and such as these, who under specious pretences of 
regard, are constantly declaring their entire approbation, if 
war should overtake us, that Jackson should have command 
of, and be at the head of our a my. What wonderous kind- 
ness ! If storms gather around us; if the cannon's mouth is 
to be faced, or the pointed bayonet to be breasted, they will 
confide in Andrew Jackson, because of his capacity and firm- 
ness ; and because from the proofs already afforded they are 
sure he will be true and faithful to the interest of the country ; 
but when all is peace and quietness, then will they turn aside 
and bestow the honours and offices of the country on some 
one, who has been to Europe, and who may know how the 
people eat and drink and sleep at Paris, and at London. Let 
some poetic genius catch this course of gratitude, and perpe- 
tuate it for the benefit of posterity ; but lest they neglect it, be 
the task mine, to essay it in true M'Fingal style : 

When war and dangers come about, 
And all is trembling, fear, and doubt, 
We'll call this Veteran from repose 
To meet and fight his country's foes. 
But when the battle's strife is ended, 
That country which his sword defended, 
Shall bid the hero in retirement go, 
And twine their favours on another's brow. 



( 47 ) 

It is certainly necessary, remarked a gentleman the other 
day, and looking to his situation, I would have expected more 
intelligence, that the President of the United States should be 
acquainted with the particular etiquette and ceremonies which 
appertain to the intercourse of different courts. Of Ja- kson I en- 
tertain the most exalted opinion, but then he has been reared in 
the interior and having never been to any of the European courts 
it is impossible he should be informed on those rules of polite 
intercourse, whic the head of a nation should be acquainted 
with ; and which, though minor, are yet frequently found to 
be essential matters : he gave me various reasons in support of 
his position, none of which appeared satisfactory, and none of 
which shall I trouble myself to note. To wiser heads, and to 
those who may be conversant in the sublime science of dan- 
cing, is it left for discussion, if in the choice of a Chief Ma- 
gistrate, it be a material enquiry, whether he may bow with 
the right or left foot foremast. Upon this subject the consti- 
tution is silent. 

I am indeed sorry to see' my country manifest such fond- 
ness and partiality for exotics. In manners, dress, and lan- 
guage, we are imitators, and borrowers from a' road ; native 
genius sinks in comparison, with that which is foreign, and 
even our appetites mark the inferior flavour of our own, when 
contrasted with the products of a foreign soil. All that we 
have national, is our government, and even that, ere^rbng, 
without much caution, will have introduced into it, many no- 
tions and idioms, other than the growth of this country ; al- 
readv h ve some appeared : witness for example those things 
called etiquette and courtly parade (and nonsense) so much in 
vogue at our metropolis. 1 want a man, my countrymen, at 
the head of this nation, who will throw such trifles off; one who 
shall give us to see something of republican plainness, and who 
may have character enough to induce a belief that it is right ; 
one who has fought for his country, and defended her rights, 



( 48 ) 

and yours, and mine ; one, whose elevation may, to the friends 
of royalty, the ent* mies of free government throughout the 
world, proclaim this truth, that republics are not ungrateful ! ! 
But 'tis folly I know to rail against fashion ; she is a ty- 
rant that long has ruled and will bear sway. In Europe she 
has decreed that kings shall rule, and the people submit. In 
this wildtrness, as if by magic, a new and different order of 
things has been produced ; but vigilance apart, and that order 
will soon be encroached upon. Well ! be it so ; it may be 
some time before the evils shall attain their highest pitch : I 
am not therefore without this consolation, that the remnant of 
my days may be spent, in time, to permit me, at least to go to 
my grave in a land where liberty dwells. Then go on, gentle- 
men, in your pilgrimage for office — make your speeches, tra- 
verse the states — exhibit yourselves to the best advantage- 
debauch the public mind, by practising all the art and in- 
trigue which a wiley system of electioneering can suggest; 
and should you lay prostrate, in your career, those republican 
principles and feelings of the country which every patriot 
should anxiously wish to be preserved, no matter ! no matter ! 
so you succeed in the elevation you so much desire, your re- 
compence will on the score of self, be ample. Of one thing 
I am quite sure, that through such channels Andrew Jackson 
will never seek to reach the Presidential Goal. He is quietly 
atho\fte. None sees him posting through the country. He 
asks not even to be remembered for any thing he has done : 
and yet his services and his claims, compared with any other 
before the public, is as the sun to a taper, — the splendour of 
mid-day to the twilight of evening. He fought for the free- 
dom, the independence of the country, and bears wounds re- 
ceived in the war of the revolution ; and for the preservation 
of that liberty, for which his youthful hand contended, has he 
subsequently exposed himself to dangers, to sufferings, and 
to the contumely and reproach of some who became his ene- 



( 49 ) 

mies only as they feared he might at some time obstruct their 
way to office. 

WYOMING, 



XO. VII. 
THE NEXT PRESIDENT : 

AND 

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS. 

It would afford me infinite pleasure to see attempted by some 
master's hand, a portrait of the several characters who are at 
present before the nation for the office of chief magistrate ; 
not with any view, however, to personal or political detrac- 
tion, or in any wise to pry into the incidents of their private 
life. He who ventures on it should have neither gall nor 
wormwood in his composition ; nor be of the Utopian school, 
to seek after and expect to find perfection. To err is nature ! 
and he who seeks for perfection or purity in human shape, is 
in quest of that which he shall never find. There lives not a 
man, who, lingering on the verge of life's departure, and look- 
ing back on the incidents of his private or public history, that 
would not perceive many errors, which on a second pilgrim- 
age he would be pleased to alter ; and yet were it possible for 
him to retrace his progress, it is more than probable, that, at 
the close ot his second journey, there would be again before 
him, an equally long list of errors, for revision and correction. 
For let it be borne in mind, that in life's progress, '« there are 



( 50 ) 

none that doeth right, no, not one." It is with the public ca- 
reer of our distinguished men that we have to do; it is by 
marking the correspondence or variance of word and deed, 
and by surveying the onwnrd progress of thiir political course, 
that we can ascertain and determine, how far they have evi- 
denced truly, a devotion to the principles of our government 
and love for the country. When I bear in mind, that this is 
the only spot on earth where liberty has found a resting place, 
and that the power and strength of nations are in combination 
against our principles, and ready on the first proffered oppor- 
tunity, to encroach upon and to destroy them, my soul revolts 
at the idea of seeing the destinies of my country confided to 
any one, who has not given the highest and strongest evi- 
dence of his love and devotion to her. The hostility so strong- 
ly manifested in Europe against free governments, is not to be 
restrained by land marks, and by the billows. Crowned with 
success there, it will proceed on its march, and wage in its pro- 
gress a war of extermination against every thing like free 
principles, throughout the world. The disasters which have 
been encountered by regal power, of late, have been ascribed 
to our successful struggle for liberty. Afraid of the effects 
to be produced from it, efforts are now making and a power- 
ful combination already formed to arrest its progress, and to 
establish the principle, that kings shall rule and the people 
obi Y. It is so pregnant with peril to the free institutions of 
this country, that all should desire accurately to be informed 
of the character, pretensions and claiins of those who would 
administer the affairs of this countrv. 

The character of Andrew Juckson has been exhibited fully, 
and in detail, before the country. The active and efficient 
manner in which he was employed, from the year 1812 to 
1822, when he went into retirement, has already been publish- 
ed ; and the nation apprised, thai as a soldier and a civilian, 
he has given abundant and repeated proofs of his superior ex- 



( 51 ) 

cellence ; and of a capacity to discharge with ability, the du- 
ties of any situation which he would venture to assume. Of 
his love and devotion to the country he has likewise given 
abundant proofs. He has fought for her; he has bled for 
her ; in defence of her rights has he encountered as many 
difficulties and hardships as any man ; and with a resolution 
and firmness peculiar to himself, surmounted them. The 
other gentlemen who are before the country, may not be 
behind in their attachment to our republican principles, and 
may*, whenever it shall be required of them, disclose a suita- 
ble and proper zeal in their support. It has been their mis- 
fortune, however, not to have been favoured with the same 
opportunities of manifesting their attachment, as have fallen 
to the lot of General Jackson. In civil matters they have 
well sustained themselves. Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay have 
been on foreign missions. Mr. Crawford has been a minis- 
ter abroad, and was present when the Holy Yandals en- 
tered Paris, and changed the destiny of JVapoieou. AH have 
been members of Congress ; and three of them at this time, 
incumbents of departments of the government. And verily 
if the holding of office, or the aspiring to its possession, is 
to be made the test of patriotism, we are in truth a highly 
favoured people, and may boast a " rampart of high minded 
and brave men," inferior to no nation in the world. 

Jackson has been in Congress, but was never in Europe. 
He was never the iieau of a department ; but he has been 
at the head of an army contending for independence, and for 
his country, and repelling the invaders of her rights. The 
war of the Revolution inscribes him as one of her patriots ; 
and the war of independence proclaims him her first and 
noblest defender. He holds no office , he is where the chief 
magistrate of the nation should be always sought for # in pri- 
vate life. A private citizen, committed to no party, pledged 
to no system, allied to no intrigue, free of all prejudice, but 
coming directly from the people, and bearing with him an 
intimate acquaintance with their feelings, wishes, and wants. 

7 



lie can hardly fail to sustain himself with credit, and hie 
country to advantage. 

Obligations and debts of gratitude cannot arise in favour 
of any, for a discharge of the duties of civil office. Is the 
situation of a member of Congress, or minister to a foreign 
court, or the head of a department, so hung around with 
peril and difficulty, as that any warm and grateful feeling 
Should be felt for the incumbent? These are theatres, where 
the qaalificatiorts and talents of the possessors, being fairly 
exhibited, an opinion may be formed of the correctness of 
the principles they possess, and how far any renewed, or in- 
creased confidence, should be reposed. With such offices, 
honour, and emolument, safety and comfort are always 
found, and hundreds would be proud to possess them. For 
the discharge of such duties no obligation can be imposed ; 
but to that man, who, rising from a bed of sickness, pene- 
trates a wilderness, and rests himself on the cold damp earth, 
who disregarding safety, ease, and comfort at home, goes 
fearlessly forth to breast the storm, and avert danger from 
his country, much is surely due. He thereby affords the 
highest and best evidence of his regard lor her, and deserves 
In return to possess hers. All this, and more than this, has 
Jackson done ; and yet against his strong pretensions, arising 
from long and arduous and faithful service ; and in despite of 
that necessity, existing in the political world, which points 
to the propriety of placing at the head of this republic, a 
man of character at home and abroad, of firmness and deci- 
sion ; against all this, the single objection relied on, is that 
he possesses too much temper, and is deficient in prudence. 
And whence does the objection come ? From those who are 
termed the leading men ; or, in other words, men whose con- 
duct rt sts upon motive, who practice intrigue, and who are 
seeking after office and self advancement. You are right, 
gentlemen, in your opposition ; say all you can to detract 
from his merit j do all you can, to pluck the green bay from 
the warrior's brow, for truly, if I have formed any correct 



( 53 ) 

estimate of this old soldier's character, he is not a man alter 
your hearts. Virtue, integrity, and talent he will prize ; all 
else he will spurn as idle trash. His discernment will unrid- 
dle your schemes, and his independent honest demeanour 
will put them to shame. Stand boldly forth in opposition to 
him then, for he will not suit ye ! 

I am persuaded, if the people of the United States would 
give themselves up seriously to eonsider, they would be sa- 
tisfied that to select their President from amongst the heads 
of departments, is a rule that ought not to obtain. The first 
regulation upon this subject was unquestionably the best. Mr. 
Adams and Mr. Jefferson each had acted as Vice President 
previously to their election ; after this the course was changed, 
and Mr. Madison and Mr. Monroe, from the state depart- 
ment, became the choice of the na(ion. The reasons which 
induced the establishment of the rule in one case, as in the 
other, were probably the same. The Vice President was 
without patronage, and the Secretary of State possessed it to 
a limited extent : the only interference or control he could 
have, was in relation to the diplomatic and consular corps, 
and here nothing of partiality and preference, on the ground 
of favours bestowed, could be produced, inasmuch as the 
duties ©f such appointments were to be attended to in foreign 
countries. As regards the other Secretaries, however, the 
matter is presented under a different aspect : their patronage 
and capacity of extending favour is considerable, and may 
be perniciously employed. The size, however, of our navy, 
and a marked indisposition on the part of our officers (o con- 
cern themselves in political matters; and a jealousy with the 
people against army opinions, saves the Secretaries of those 
departments, in a great degree, from the force of the objec- 
tion, but does not wholly remove it. 

As it regards the Treasury Department, the objection 
comes with force, and merits from all consideration and re- 
flection. It is no part of my object to indulge in personali- 
ties, or by pressing the pretensions and claims of one, to de- 



( 5* ) 

tract from that merit, which the public may be disposed to 
ascribe to another ; yet may I be permitted to inquire, what 
the Secretary of the Treasury (Mr. Crawford) has done 
for the country, that he should claim her highest exercise 
of favour ? He has been in Congress, and has been a minis- 
ter at the court of France, and is now at the head of the 
Treasury ? But what of all that ? Is the nation under obliga- 
tion to him, because that she has been liberal and has crowded 
him with favours ? If there be an obligation imposed, it is 
upon Mr. Crawford ; for these offices of honour and ease 
bestowed upon him, others would gladly have held, and might 
have filled them as creditably to themselves, and as advan- 
tageously to the country. I cannot find that he suffered or 
bled in the contest which established, or in that which was 
waged for the preservation of our independence. In the 
summer of 1813, when war raged and we were struggling 
to preserve our rights, Mr. Crawford was content to leave 
his country, at a salary of nine thousand dollars a year, to 
mingle in the gay circles of Paris; but in 1815, when the 
battle and confusion was over, and the Presidential election 
about to take place, he formed and executed the resolution 
to come home and endeavour to obtain the appointment ; but 
he failed — the claims of an old soldier, who, hand in hand, 
with his country, had gone with her through two wars, was 
preferred. Colonel Monroe's term being now about to ex- 
pire, Mr. Crawford will try his luck again. There is one 
man amongst us, who, with his country involved in war, 
could under no circumstances have been prevailed upon to 
become a diplomatic agent, to figure at a foreign court. I 
am well convinced that Andrew Jackson would not have 
gone ; but would have preferred in such an hour of peril, to 
erect himself above all price, and stood by his country, " to 
shield her and save her, or perish there too?'' 

Jackson is the only man before the nation, who, resting 
in the shade of private life, is without patronage or favour, 
by which to win to him partisans and friends : those who veri- 






( *S ) 

ture to speak in his behalf, are without motive or inducement, 
save that of giving utterance to their feelings, and of indulg- 
ing in those proud sentiments which Republicans will ever be 
pleased to foster. No man is a Republican who does not 
love his country and her principles; and he cannot admire 
them warmly, who contemns her first, her bravest, and her 
noblest defender. 

If Mr. Crawford, like Andrew Jackson, stood in private 
life, he would scarcely be thought of; it is only because that 
he is at the head of the Treasury department, and possessed 
of extensive patronage, that any has ventured to think of him. 
If the Register for 1822 be examined, the patronage this in- 
dividual possesses, will be at once perceived ; being seen, it 
will no longer remain a matter of surprize, that he should 
have his numerous partisans. Enumerate the Collectors of 
the customs, the Inspectors, Agents, Receivers of public mo- 
ney, and Registers of Land Offices, all attached to the Trea- 
sury Department, and retaining their offices pretty much by 
the tenure of the Secretary's pleasure, and it will be found 
that there are about one thousand of them, scattered through 
the Union, anil that they receive from the public coffers 
nearly a million of dollars annually. Curiosity and a leisure 
moment, led me to make the examination, and he who will 
do the same, will find the statement correct. Will not Mr. 
Crawford take care to retain and place in office, at a time 
like this, persons who are friendly to his views ? Whatever 
merit or claims an applicant may have, his sentiments as to 
the next Presidential election will be critically inquired into, 
by one seeking after his own advancement, and whose opinion 
in a great degree controls the appointment. But beside all 
this, his having at his disposal the funds of the nation, and 
exercising, as he has, the right of transferring deposits from 
one bank to another, obtains for him all the advantages 
which the influence of money can secure, and opens wide the 
door to intrigue. Than these, what better reasons can be 
given, why this nation should reject the idea of seeking a 



( 5« ) 

President from the Head of a Department, and particularly 
from the Treasury Department ? Virtuous sentiments can- 
not be expected to bear sway in such a course ; intrigue and 
cunning management will alone direct and control the result. 
Rumour has proclaimed that the burning of the capitol, and 
sacking our metropolis, in 1814, was to be traced to that 
want of concert and preparation, which was the effect of 
jealousy, rivalry, and a contest for power, in certain Heads 
of Departments. Ere the war closed, however, the valour 
of Andrew Jackson had wiped away that stain from our his- 
tory ; and I yet hope that the same man, aided by the good 
sense and sober reflection of the people, may save us from 
this second effort at intrigue and management after office, 
which the Heads of Departments are again attempting to 
play upon us. That any thing and every thing, which opens 
a door to intrigue, or which may have a tendency to corrup- 
tion, should be sedulously guarded against, if we would 
preserve in purity our Republican institutions, is a remark 
that cannot be too often repeated, or too closely attended to. 
The election of Andrew Jackson will have a wonderful ten- 
dency to regenerate those Republican feelings and principles, 
which through the practices and manoeuvres of the leading 
men of the country, may eventually be laid prostrate. 

WYOMING. 



( w ) 



XO. Till, 

THE NEXT PRESIDENT : 

AND 

CAUCUS USURPATION. 

tn the selection of the Chief Magistrate of this Union, it 
fs not necessary that we should look exclusively to mental 
qualification ; we should have hefore us other considerations 
which are no less important to be attended to. There are 
many persons in the United States, other than those already 
before the public, qualified to take care of our affairs, and 
safely to administer the government. Were the incumbent 
deficient in high qualities of mind, the privilege he has of 
calling to his cabinet council, the most distinguished men 
he can find ; the advantages to be afforded him, from the la- 
bours of Congress, with the information it is ever in his 
power to procure from inofficial, confidential sources, goes 
far to prove, that the duties of the office are not of that 
eumberous, mental responsibility and character, which many 
are in the habit of supposing. There are other things, 
equally to be considered, and equally to be regarded, in 
making the selection of Chief Magistrate. In his principles 
he should be steady, fixed, and certain ; a character, claiming 
regard at home, and respect abroad ; and one who may have 
given satisfactory demonstrations of his attachment to the 
interest, and devotion to the advancement and glory of his 
eounlry. Heretofore we have been guided by this policy, 
and we are without any sufficient reason why a different one 
should be now adopted. 

When General Washington Avas called to administer a 
government newly organized, and upon principles different 
from any that had in times before been essayed, he had fur- 



( 58 ) 

nished no practical evidences of his acquirements, as a civi- 
lian and a statesman. Washington was a " man of home," 
and without those polished refinements acquired at a foreign 
Court, and of late, considered material qualifications in the 
character of a Chief Magistrate. Mars and Minerva had 
been his tutors ; but with the graces he had never studied ; 
yet the people did not hesitate to confide to him the direction 
of their affairs : they did it from no knowledge of his talents 
as a civilian ; but from a belief, that a good soldier could 
readily make a good statesman ; that the pilot who could 
guide his ship in safety through a perilous storm, might well 
be confided in, when the tempest had ceased, and when a calm 
prevailed ; but more, they saw that for his country he had 
manifested great attachment, such regard for her interest, 
her safety, her glory, even to the hazarding of his life, and 
all that he possessed, that they did not, and could not distrust 
him. The trial proved their hopes correct, and in peace he 
was ascertained to be the same faithful guardian he had been 
in war. He who succeeded Washington, and those who fol- 
lowed, down to the present incumbent, were of that proud 
corps, who in the field, and in the cabinet, had, during our 
Revolutionary struggle, given proofs of their attachment to 
the country, and to her republican principles. Indeed, no 
stronger tests were to be had ; for it being a period to try 
effectually the materials of which men were composed, those 
who came well through that ordeal, were free to remain 
without the pale of suspicion. In their contest for freedom, 
and the subsequent establishment of the government, oppor- 
tunities were afforded our distinguished men, to show, how 
far they were sincere in their professions of attachment to 
the cause of their country, and to her repuhlican principles ; 
those who were then found faithful, were afterwards deemed 
worthy to be trusted. 

Our second war has furnished us the same opportunity of 
deciding upon the qualities and pretensions of our leading 
men, as was afforded by the first. We will not, and should 



C 59 ) 

not expect at such a time, that every man should be a soldier, 
and on the field of battle to manifest himself his country's 
friend ; but I mean to say, that one every way qualified to dis- 
charge the duties of civil life, and who has signalized himself at 
the head of our armies, and in the battle's strife, is certainly to 
be considered possessed ofsuperiour claims, to that man who 
may have been differently situated. Mr. Adams is indeed 
famed for his belles lettres, and classical acquirements, and 
may be, and no doubt is, a man of superior erudition to any 
spoken of. His statesman-like views, and chaste writings 
have been uniformly admired ; and for diplomatic arrange- 
ment and management, he may be and no doubt is well quali- 
fied. Mr. Crawford too, from long practice, and familiar ac- 
quaintance, may outstrip his competitors in Treasury esti- 
mates, Bank arrangements, and in calculations of cents and 
dollars. Mr. Calhoun may know more of the details of his 
office; and Mr. Clay, on the floor of Congress, might much 
more readily swell the briny tear from his listener's eyes. But 
for native strength of mind — for an intimate knowledge of all 
the checks and balances and well poised principles of our gov- 
ernment, and for steady adherence to republican purity, there 
are none of them with pretensions superior to Andrew Jack- 
son. It may be very well that the President of these states 
should combine every necessary requisite of the head and heart 
and indeed that he should be a perfect man, could such an one 
be found ; and it might be very well too, that the general at 
the head of an army should be practised and learned as to de- 
tails, and be able to form " the square, the phalanx, and the 
crescent firm, the deep column and the lengthened line," but 
it would not be an essential qualification, or such an one as 
might not be as well confided to a good adjutant. They are 
not material and important requisites, it is the strength of 
mind; a perseverance and steadiness of purpose, and quick- 
ness of perception, ail under the guidance of accurate judg* 

s 



( 6-0 ) 

ment, that makes the distinguished man in any and every 
situation ; detail must be left to office assistants. 

The correspondence, proclamations, and general orders of 
Jackson, during, and since, the war, will bear a comparison 
with the productions of our best writers ; and his acts and do- 
ings, amidst difficulties of the most pressing kind, at once pro- 
claim his abilities, his capacity, and his judgment. While on 
the Seminole campaign, at the head of a half starved and suf- 
fering army, unaided by books and law writers, but resting 
alone upon his own resources and the strength of his mind, 
he formed decisions which baffled the energy of some of bur 
ablest men, and which were in the end pronounced to be Well 
made ; and it is a curious circumstance, that after books and 
authorities had been read, and critically examined, and the 
whole affair brought for a tedious time under the revision of 
Congress, many of our learned and distinguished men were 
found at fault ; some asserting and maintaining this thing 
right, and that wrong ; and others equally enlightened, advo- 
cating directly the converse positions. Some maintained that 
the death of the Indian Prophets was correct and proper, on 
account of the murders which they had committed ; but that 
the two Englishmen found with them, and who had instigated 
the deed, were to be excused, because they were the subjects 
of a friendly power. The entering of Florida, because " not 
in the hot pursuit of an enemy," was maintained by some to 
be wrong j and by others every thing was declared right ex- 
cept the capture of Pensacola ; but for condemning what had 
been done, a majority on no one point could be found : thus 
does it appear that Jackson at a time and under circumstances, 
wholly unpropitious to reflection and accurate decision, and 
under the first impressions of his judgment, arrived at conclu- 
sions which the collected wisdom of the country, after three 
weeks examination, and with every facility afforded, could 
not agree was wrong ; and let it not be forgotten that many 



( 6i ) 

of those who were his strenuous opposers, and who on that 
occasion condemned every act he had done, were uniformly 
heard to admit that they believed all his acts flowed from the 
purest motives, and from no other intention than to serve his 
country. Mr. Clay openly on that occasion, and Mr. Craw- 
ford in ambuscade, as it has been said and believed, were of 
the number of his accusers, and who, proceeding to bold 
lengths, would have condemned him if they could, for daring 
to hang two Englishmen who had excited the Indians to mur- 
der our citizens, and for having dared to put an end to a war, 
which, but for the energy that directed it, might have been 
spun out at great expense — brought the administration into 
disrepute, and afforded a stepping-stone to Radicalism. Things 
as they are now developed, readily point ihe motives by which 
certain persons then were governed, and verifies the old mtx- 
im, that all is not gold that shines. Jackson's efficiency of 
conduct, his. boldness of character, and fearless intrepidity, 
whenever his country called upon him for his services, it was 
feared might give him too fast a hold on the affections of the 
people, and forthwith was the cry raised, crucify him ! crucify 
him ! Mr. Crawford's friends joined. in the shouting, and Mr. 
Clay mourned the execution of those unfortunate men who 
had instigated the savages to murder our helpless women and 
children. The good sense of the nation, however, upon their 
petition was unwilling, and refused to condemn a man who, 
for the country had done more, and suffered more, than they 
had ever dreamed of. 

Qur country has been gradually receding from first princi- 
ples since that period, when the father of his country yielded 
up the almost shattered bark, which he had borne in safety 
through the storms of the Revolution. The places and posts 
which then were occupied by reason, prudence, and love of 
country, are now found in the possession of intrigue, manage- 
ment, and corruption. There was a time when men were 



( 62 ) 

selected to office on account of their virtue ; that time is no 
morr ; and we are left with the sad reflection, that the people 
of the United States are now nothing more than instruments 
in the hands of the leading )7ien, moving and acting as they 
are instructed and ordered. It is true that a tyranny which 
is best concealed, is most tolerable ; yet it does not on that 
account cease to be tyranny. A man may be placed in a pri- 
son, and while you beguile him to the opinion, that he is there 
by his own consent, he will feel as a free man and rest con- 
tented ; but bring him to a belief that he is there from con- 
straint, and discontent will immediately ensue. It is precisely 
so with the yeomanry of our country; they have been car- 
ried along by caucus management, and by the leading men t 
and cajoled to |he belief that they are sovereign, at the very 
moment when their dearest rights are undermining. 

Caucus was not resorted to, until who should be the next 
President, became a matter of management and intrigue. 
Then it was, that members of Congress, claiming to be men 
of influence, undertook, and without authority, to say to the 
people, who the individual should be. Heretofore they have 
rather followed, than led opinion ; yet still was it usurpation, 
because it was the exercise of a power, which neither the 
constitution, nor the office which they held, gave them the right 
to extrcise. Were the members of Congress to convene as 
private gentlemen— divest themselves of every feeling of par- 
tiality or dislike, which they might entertain for any indivi-r 
dual, and merely by their opinions be understood to say, what 
they believed was the sense and wishes of those whom they 
represented, some of the objections to a Caucus might sub- 
side ; but when they are known to meet and act in reverse of 
all this ; sustaining their particular favourite, from the influ- 
ence which his address and management has acquired over 
them ; or as is sometimes doubtless the case, from a cause 
more disreputable f a hope of future favours, it becomes n 



C 63 ) 

*< word of horrible import." Shall we always live in ignorance 
of what nature is ? The stripling youth, just venturing into 
life, learned in books, and ignorant of all beside, persuades 
himself, and readily believes, that a judge on the bench, or 
one holding the dignified situation of member of Congress, 
possesses a degree of purity which places him beyond the 
reach and range of that corruption which is incident to na- 
ture ; soon, however, as he advances a little, he finds, as all of 
reflection who have gone before him have, " that for a' that, 
and a* that, man's but a man for a' that." He is a stranger to 
good sense, who believes, that office, no matter what its grade, 
can affect the possessor so far, as to make his head wiser, cr 
his heart better. 

The cry of the designing ones now is — "Have a Caucus; there 
are too many candidates, and without this resort the question 
must of necessity come before Congress." Then let it come ! 
For wherein consists the difference in the alternatives propo- 
sed ? If there be any, it is on the side of that course, which 
will bring the question before the representatives of the peo- 
ple in a responsible shape, and under circumstances to make 
them feel the weight and importance of the obligation impo- 
sed, rather than adopt a mode where all is privacy and con- 
cealment, and where there is an entire absence of liability. 
The one will be in pursuance of the constitution, and in fur- 
therance of its principles — the other subversive of all princi- 
ple. A Caucus, by giving to each individual member a right 
to vote, adds to the influence and power of the larger states, 
in violation of that important guarantee, the voting by states, 
which was deemed essential to the security of the smaller. 
" 'Tis strange, 'tis passing strange, 'tis wonderful indeed" that 
there should be found recommending a Caucus, those who so 
much deplore the idea of its coming in the last resort before 
the house of representatives ; for the effect is the same, with 
this shade of difference, that in the one case, the constitution 



( 64 ) 

is maintained, in the other it is violated ; in the one, the large 
states arrogate all power, and prostrate the influence of the 
smaller j while in the other, the balance is kept up in the way 
which was early deemed essential to union and peace — to 
harmony and good understanding. Whilst, therefore, I should 
regret to see a decision of the question, made by the house of 
representatives, or by any other, than the tribunal of the peo- 
ple, I am not so far carried away by my feelings, and wanting 
in republican sentiment, as to desire that the will of a Caucus 
shall be deemed the preferable course. The one so much 
feared, and so much deprecated, is the legitimate rule, which 
a convention of the nation has recognised and sanctioned, 
while the other is usurpation by the Leading Men, to further 
their own views, and to dictate to the people. 

I know of but one mode, by which a Caucus can be made 
to assume a character legitimate and unobjectionable, and that 
is the one which has been practised on by the republican state 
of Pennsylvania. By her persons were chosen specially, and 
delegated with authority from the people, to ascertain the ta- 
lents and qualifications, and probable prospects of success, of 
the several candidates, that union and harmony might be pre- 
served. They met in pursuance of this understanding, and 
thereby discharged a trust which had been deliberately con- 
fided to them. Our members of Congress, however, are with- 
out any such authority for action. Their duties are certain 
and defined ! To interfere in the cheice of a President in no 
wise appertains to them. They were elected for no such pur- 
pose ; so far from it, the constitution rejects the idea of a 
senator or representative having any thing to do with the bu- 
siness. Any act oi theirs, therefore, which has a tendency to 
interference — to control the decision of the question, or even 
to produce an influence, is usurpation. 

It is folly to maintain that the people of the United States 
have a voice in the election of their Chief Magistrate, if the 



( 65 ) 

members of Congress may select the candidate, and the legis* 
latures of the states appoint the electors. It is enough already 
that the electors are interposed between the people and their 
President, for even this is a departure from republican princi- 
ple ; but when the states claim, as they do, the right of appoint- 
ing the electors, the right of choice is so removed from the 
people, that they can be considered nothing more than instru- 
ments in the hands of the leading men ; a band which desire 
to constitute themselves the aristocracy of the country. If we 
are to be controlled by a privileged order, for heaven's sake 
let us know it; and let stars and garters decorate their royal 
personages, that we may know them ; it will be far better than 
•to have a parcel of sanctified pretenders stalking through the 
country in sheep's clothing, preaching up and proclaiming their 
republican principles, and feelings, and purity, while at the 
same time they are seeking to obtain consequence, and to ele- 
vate themselves by secretly attempting to undermine the 
checks and balances of the government. 

I say a Legislature ought not to appoint Electors, for the 
plainest reason in the world, because the constitution gives them 
no such power : and I am indeed astonished, that the people 
should sit by and suffer such inroads upon their rights, nor 
venture to complain. It needs no lawyer or logician to argue 
so plain a question ; a capacity capable of comprehending the 
import of plain and simple terms, is as competent to a deci- 
sion, as the ablest civilian in the land. " Each state shall ap- 
point, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a 
number of Electors equal, fc^c." What do the words "each 
state" mean ? The people to be sure ! It is equivalent to lan- 
guage like this, the people entitled to vote in the several states, 
shall as the Legislatures may direct, appoint Electors, thus 
making the Legislature the agent to prescribe the rule, and the 
people the actors to execute the thing required to be done. If 
'§p whence comes it that this high exercise,, of power and priv- 



( 66 ) 

ilege has been usurped from the people ? Is it possible to pre- 
sume that the wise men, who, with so great caution and de- 
liberation formed this important charter of our liberties, could 
have understood so little the force and meaning of language, 
as to have intended to say, the Legislature should appoint as 
the Legislature should direct? Certainly they could have 
meant no such thing ; for, the first clause of the sentence, the 
residue being omitted, would have been fully as expressive of 
that idea, as language could here rendered it, inasmuch, as a 
right given to appoint, would necessarily have carried with 
it, all the incidental authority as to the manner. For the Le- 
gislature to prescribe the mode, not make the appointment, 
was all the right which was to be given. Let it be recollect- 
ed, that the Constitution was framed by those who had been 
contending against usurpation, and who all along had advoca- 
ted the doctrine, that all power was, and should be, inherent 
in the people. Their object was to establish a Government 
purely Republican, and to make their Chief Magistrate to de- 
rive his power from, and be dependent on the people ; yet 
all these views and wholesome considerations were idle, if at 
the same time, it was designed to place, not merely the Elec- 
tors, but the Legislatures, as intermediate barriers between 
the people and their President. Under such an arrangement, 
dependence and responsibility is lost, and the people, stripped 
of all but constructive power, must abide the instruments of 
the Leading men — the men in office. Under such a construc- 
tion the President would have only to flatter and please the 
legislatures of a majority of the states, and do what he might, 
his continuance in office would be certain. I protest against a 
construction so hostile to all republican feeling ; and should 
any Legislative electoral votes be returned to Congress at thd 
next election, I trust some daring republican may be found, 
with nerve enough to urge their rejection from the general 
count. WYOMING. 



( 67 ) 

XO. IX. 

THE PRESIDENCY 

AND 

WILLIAM II. CRAWFORD. 

The friends of Mr. Crawford, press and maintain the idea s 
that the people of this country should yield their assent to be 
controlled by a Caucus. They have reasoned with themselves* 
and attained the belief that no other course is presented, by 
which to secure unanimity in the republican ranks, and to pre- 
vent that hydra evil, a reference in the last resort to the house 
of representatives. How does all this happen ? And whence is 
derived such anxious solicitude ? One might almost conjecture, 
that their favourite, the Secretary of the Treasury, was in fact 
the only true, substantial, orthodox republican, known to the 
nation, and that the others were strangers to all those feelings 
which democracy inspires : And yet, were those gentlemen 
who so warmly advocate his promotion, required, in support of 
his pretensions and their assertions, to produce their pages and 
paragraphs of proof, the account would be too empty and beg- 
garly to become satisfactory to any, who had not some hidden, 
secret motive for belief. Of this description of believers, there 
are, unfortunately and indeed, too many. One thousand per- 
sons scattered through the United States, and drawing from 
the treasury, nothing^hort of a million of dollars a year; and 
who for the tenure of their offices are compelled to rest upon 
the smiles and the approbation of the secretary of the treasury, 
present a phalanx and an influecne, at once to be seen, dread- 
ed, and felt. Such a corps, with all their weight of friends and 
family connexions may well be looked for under the banners of the 
disposer of their offices; while an influence through them on pub- 

9 



( 68 ) 

lit opinion, may be expected to be essayed and perhaps produced. 
In this country the influence of money is wonderful and great; 
it is an image, before which, like the Eastern jugernaut, all 
most cheerfully bow ; and yet there are no people on the face 
of the earth who would " shake bribes from the land" more in- 
dignantly than the American people : still in some way or other, 
it happens, that being without stars and garters, and orders of 
distinction, by which " nature's fancy" is tickled and delighted, 
they are induced to look to wealth, as the great highway that 
leads to distinction and happiness. Here then, whatever may 
be the case in other countries, may it be expected that interest 
and feeling will go hand in hand together. When, therefore, 
a host, holding offices and liberal salaries, behold the man who 
maintains them in the enjoyment of such favours, asking their 
kindness and support in return, who of nature has a heart to 
resist ? None ! They will go along with him, as well from a 
recollection of the past, as a hope of favours to be increased 
in future. 

No country ever lost at once, its privileges and its rights : 
generally, the principles of all free and liberal Governments 
have been sapped, not by sudden, but, by slow and impercep- 
tible marches. It has ever been a part of the attribute of pow- 
er, to strain the cord a little, and a little closer, until like 
piling mites in a scale, the senses are concious of the addition 
only when the balance begins to veer. England, next to our 
own, perhaps, the freest government, has repeatedly beheld 
her kings making inroads beyond the sanction of regal prerog- 
ative, and not unfrequently have they been reined in by the 
people j not when the evils were at their commencement, but 
when the nation awakened from its reverie, and beheld there 
was a departure from first principles. Nature is identical 
every where ; and in Republican America, the same thirst for 
domination exists, as is to be found in the despotic nations of 
Europe. It is not then to the leading men of the country we 



( 69 ) 

must look to have preserved pure and unpolluted, the fountains 
which moisten and nourish our liberties j because although we 
often find them, while mingling in private life, our warmest 
advocates for equal rights and privileges, no sooner do they 
get foistered into office, than they are perceived reaching for- 
ward and grasping at constructive, as well as actual power. No ! 
It is not to them ; it is to the yeomanry of our happy country, 
the men of agriculture and industry; who are toiling in pursuit of 
an honest sustenance, that we must look for security ; — men, 
who are unconnected with the Government, and with that system 
of flattery, folly, and intrigue, which unfortunately for the sim- 
plicity of our habits, is too rapidly rising into consequence. 

The connexion which the people believe exists between the 
men in office and themselves is nothing more than a system of 
hypocrisy and deceit. Like the beautiful decorations of a the- 
atre, it is a mere phantasmagora, representing and exhibiting 
as real, things that are altogether illusory. Who that has 
visited our metropolis, does not recollect to have seen some 
dull and stupid village Solon, great, only that because under 
the limited horizon where he dwelt, there was one greater than 
himself, rise, and in drawling tone, senseless thought, and des- 
picable attitude, harangue for hours the empty silent seats 
around him; until fatigued and worn down, he has given up 
the mighty self exertion, which few but himself had witnessed: 
and yet in a few days thereafter, aided by some kind one, per- 
haps a Presidential Candidate, whose friend he was, lo ! and 
behold in the papers and in rounded polished periods 

Comes forth some splendid effort of the mind 
Like Phocian great, like Pericles refined ; 
On thro' the States proceed, his weighty matters, 
Breaking the turnpikes and the mails to tatters. 

The people read the furnished essay, and are surprized and 
pleased ; those who view the author only as he is reflected 
through his production, believe him " a second Daniel come 



( 70 ) 

to judgment ;" while those who know him intimately, are as- 
tonished bow it is, that the splendour of his intellect has so 
varied betwixt home and abroad. The paper and the speech, 
however, are taken as testimony; the credulous imbibe faith; 
the doubting gives up their doubts ; while the knowing ones 
chuckle and are silent, at the same time thinking how mar- 
\*ellous it is, that he who but yesterday, 

Might well have stood before the world a goose, 
Now passes for a Solomon let loose. 

But enough of this light remark upon so grave a subject, 
as who shall take upon himself the proudest office known to 

man. 

I say, of all others yet spoken of, Mr. Crawford has the least 
claim to this distinction. It is no part of my intention to ven- 
ture any suspicions against either his honesty or his integrity. 
My opinions and wishes are dictated alone by principle, and a 
regard for the happiness of my country. Nothing will be urged 
by me from personal considerations ; feelings of patriotism only 
3hall direct and influence me ; for I am truly one of those old 
fashioned simpletons, who dares to love his country, and to 
pray that her institutions may be handed down, unimpaired to 
posterity ; well apprised, however, that I am at least half a 
century behind the times, and that the true etiquette of the day 
particularly with our leading- men^ is, 

Live for yourself, our own great self maintain, 
And bury all things in the love of gain ! 
Heed not the means, so you secure your ends ; 
Be but successful, and you'll not want friends. 

While the partizans of Mr. Crawford are urging his preten- 
sions to become the chief magistrate of this country, and resting 
their preference on the ground of superior qualification, talent, 
and political purity ; it may not be amiss to enquire how far 
fhose pretensions are well founded, or whether indeed they 



( 71 ) 

consist in any thing, than the mere assertion of his friends. 
Warmly disposed towards my country, and her glory ; and 
anxious that her Government should be administered with 
ability, and after the republican simplicity and purity conse- 
crated by our forms, I ought not, and shall not hesitate at all 
times to speak freely and candidly my sentiments of those who 
may claim to rule over me. My opinions have been already 
freely and fully given, and my preference expressed for Gene- 
ral Jackson, that distinguished man, a republican and friend 
to his country; and one who deserves to stand high in every 
patriotic bosom. He, and he alone, remains the people's can- 
didate, though opposed by the leading men. To sustain him 
it is not necessary that aught should be urged against any other, 
nor will his friends and advocates, I hope, resort to any such 
course. No such assistance is necessary in support of Him 
who has done more for his country, than would the aggregate 
claims of all the rest amount to. 

The political integrity of Mr. Crawford has never been per- 
ceived by me, it has either risen so high as not be discerned 
by my confined vision, or sunk so low as to be immersed in 
darkness ; yet his friends say, that he possesses it, and, per- 
haps, having a more intimate knowledge of him than myself, 
they may be right ; but where is the evidence of the fact ? We 
all know that the administration of Mr. Adams was disapprov- 
ed, censured, and put down by the Republicans of this country; 
nor are we ignorant that it was the approval and disapproval 
of the course pursued by that administration, which marked 
the line and separation of parties in the United States. A sys- 
tem of legislation on the part of Congress, founded on construc- 
tive and implied powers, and bearing with it the authority of 
executive sanction, had with many created an apprehension, that 
in theory and in practice, the plan of our government was es 
sentially varient. In the high handed measures then pursued, 
there was perceived to be aimed a stab, as well at the libertij c! 



( 72 ) 

the press) as of speech ; but by a resolve, effected through the 
channels of the Constitution the evil was put down. Of that 
party was Mr. Crawford. He was of a committee to draft an 
address to President Adams ; and in that address, to which his 
name is subscribed, are contained protestations of confidence, 
and unlimited faith in the integrity of the incumbent, and of 
the fidelity and ability with which he had administered the af- 
fairs of a then murmuring and complaining country. What 
better proofs of Federalism could any one give; what stronger 
proofs have any of the party ever afforded? Timothy Picker- 
ing could have clone no more ; and it is even more than Alex. 
Hamilton ever did, who stood first and foremost in the Federal 
ranks. In Mr. Adams's administration, Hamilton did not avow 
a confidence, for he declared that he entertained none. The 
Democrats of the country certainly did not, for at the very time 
when Mr. Crawford was proclaiming to the world the great 
confidence he had in the integrity and ability of this most cor- 
rupt administration, were the Republicans labouring to produce 
reform. As far then as his influence and opinions could pro- 
duce effect, they were exerted on the side of the men in pow- 
er, and in behalf of the Federal notions of the day. If conduct 
like this shall establish a right to be held a Republican in prin- 
ciple, I know not what should establish the converse of it; or 
why, by the same rule, any, the most violent Federalists, may 
not equally claim to be admitted into our ranks ! 

Fearful of the effect to be produced from this well urged sus- 
picion against his political purity, Mr. Crawford's partizans 
have become clamorous, and have poured in upon us certifi- 
cates from various quarters. A Georgia Congressman has. 
come forth as one of his valiant defenders, and even a district 
Judge of Alabama, a quondam member of the United States 
Senate has raised his voice in his defence. I am not aware that 
Judge Tait was himself ever suspected of any high pretensions 
to Republican purity ; nor while in the Senate, if we except his 



( 73 ) 

weakness and indiscretion of temper, that he was remarkrble for 
any distinguishable traits of chaiacter. Will he tell the public, 
if this well coined production of his, was the spontaneous ef- 
fort of an unbiassed judgment ; or did it grow into existence 
through some secret whisper from the Secretary of the Trea- 
sury ? If Governor Clark's declarations are to weigh any thing, 
the Judge in early life was but the echo of a man, whose influ- 
ence in more advanced age seems still to control him. Other 
friends, equally solicitous on the subject, maintain it to be one 
of life's early indiscretions ; a boyish act, done while Mr. 
Crawford was of tender years, " of judgment weak, and feeble 
tongue !" And how old was he pray ? Why very young, not 
more than thirty- four, just at thst delicate period of life's un- 
certainty, when character begins to dawn, and genius to unfold 
itself! Away with such nonsense ! The defence renders the 
imputation more glaring, for the reason that it is intended to 
deceive. 

I pretend not to say, that Mr. Crawford is at all deficient in 
modern political refinement. He is doubtless artful in manage- 
ment, skilled in finesse, and versed in intrigue ; and should this 
country require any such qualifications in her Chief Magis- 
trate, he will be found pre-eminently suitable. His history is 
not unlike the famous Prince of Benevento, who possessed the 
happy faculty of maintaining himself with every ruling party. 
He was a good Federalist, and is now just as good a Repub- 
lican. In 1816 he intrigued and sought to procure for himself 
the Caucus Nomination, and on failing, induced Mr. Monroe 
to believe him his personal and political friend, so far as actu- 
ally to obtain the post of a Cabinet minister. Still his ambition 
rested not, for ere the first term of Mr. Monroe had expired, 
he was found playing the same artful game of self-advance- 
ment, though still maintaining his Cabinet post. 

The Government and Gen. Jackson, that distinguished pa- 
triot in his country's service, had under the operations of the 



( ™ ) 

Seminole war, become identified. Six months had been worn 
through in attempts to reduce the Savages, and give peace to 
our borders, but without success. Jackson was at length call- 
ed into service. Confiding in his skill and judgment, nothing 
restrictive was imposed in his orders : they were broad, gen- 
eral and discretionary, simply requiring him to give peace and 
restore security to the Southern border, leaving with him every 
thing in relation to mode and manner. Under this order Gen- 
eral Jackson went forward, and ere his arrival was heard of, 
the mandate issued to him had been complied with, by the 
restoration of peace and good order. But he involved the 
government. The Spanish minister had remonstrated, and 
the knowing ones maintained, that because he had entered a 
neutral territory, and punished those who had instigated and fo- 
mented the war j and because he had put to death those who 
causelessly had become the murderers of women and helpless 
children, justice and the laws of nations were violated, and the 
author of such outrages merited to be punished. But the 
President of the U. States sustained our veteran Chief, nor 
was it in his power to do otherwise, because his order could 
not mean less than Jackson had understood it to mean. On 
this occasion Mr. Crawford again displayed himself, goaded by 
the secret desire to injure Jackson, and to traduce an Admin- 
istration in whose confidence and service he was. 

A cabinet council was held to examine into this momentous 
matter, and to ascertain what should be done. Whether firm- 
ly to maintain our ground — to say to Spain, all we have done 
was from necessity, and because, that while you professed 
neutrality you were seeking our injury; or whether Jackson 
should be arrested and offered as an atoning sacrifice, because 
he had disregarded courtly etiquette^ was a matter it seems 
which was gravely argued. Mr. Crawford shortly afterwards 
passed into Georgia, and in a little while, on the authority of 
one of his confidential friends, a newspaper publication an 



( 75 ) 

bounced, that there had been a division of the cabinet on the ques- 
tion, whether Jackson should he arrested and punished. How 
divided ? Adams and Calhoun were not in favour of it, as sub- 
sequent events proved ; of course Mr. Crawford himself must 
have been in support of the arrest : and thus was he the ad- 
vocate of a course, which if successful must have exposed 
the Executive ; inasmuch as there was so complete an iden- 
tity in all that had been done, in pursuance of the orders 
issued, that between the government and the commanding 
officer, there was no room by which to draw a line of sepa- 
ration. The next session of Congress, however, disclosed 
the matter completely, and gave to secret cabal a much more 
enlarged theatre for action. Upon this occasion the friends, 
the bosom friends of the Secretary of the Treasury became 
the most noisy and clamorous. Mr. Cobb, the particular as- 
sociate and friend of Mr. Crawford, in connexion with Mr. 
Clay, formed the resolutions, which were to proclaim as a 
tyrant the valiant defender of his country's rights. Every 
member from Georgia, aftd those who subsequently were 
ascertained to be the friends of the secretary united in the 
general proscription. Whence all this but through the se- 
cret intrigue, influence, and exertions of Mr. Crawford ? It 
may have been, (anything is possible) the result of chance; 
for some philosophers argue and maintain, that all things, 
even creation itself, is produced u from causeless accident." 
My rule of reason, however, is that when things move har- 
moniously and in order together, design and not accident has 
brought them about. When therefore I beheld Mr. Clay 
and Mr Crawford in union on this important matter, a union 
on the one side of which stood their own views of self-ad- 
vancement, and on the other, a desire to degrade a man who 
had encountered every thing for his country, I thought that 
like the Holy Allies, they were in quest of similar objects 
without desiring to be fully understood by each other. The 
one, fearful of the growing strength of Jackson, and the in- 
terference and division to be produced in the western states 



( 76 ) 

sought to destroy him, by proclaiming him a tyrant and a 

murderer, and one who regarded the laws of neither God 

nor man. The other was actuated by the same feeling, 

though with this additional inducement, that as there was 

such an identity of action, in all that had been done, between 

the President and the General, the guilt of the one being 

established, the impeachment of the other might follow, and 

thus his ambition be puffed into full size even four years 

earlier. Thus has Mr. Crawford constantly stood, in oppo- 

position to the Administration with tohich he was connected, and 

yet by his management and address has so completely cajoled 

Mr. Monroe, as to pass for a friend, and to maintain himself 

in the high and responsible post of a cabinet adviser. On this 

subject surprise and indignation are so equally blended, that 

I can sav nothing ! 

WYOMING. 



PRESIDENTIAL MATTERS AND THINGS. 

The hostility of Mr. Crawford and his friends against the 
administration, though manifested and warmly pressed, was 
not effectual, and the Seminole campaign in Congress termi- 
nated as creditably to those whom it was intended to injure, 
as it had been previously terminated in the swamps of Flo- 
rida. But restless spirits could not be quiet, and again were 
opportunities sought for and seized on, to convince the na- 
tion, that in support of their rights some wakeful activity 
was necessary ; and that unless a new and skilful pilot was 
gotten at the helm, and none was admitted so skilful as Mr. 
Crawford, our political bark could not much longer float 
prosperously on. Economy was the text to be preached from 



( 77 ) 

Money was a subject which all understood, and plausibility 
it was thought would readily obtain, in favour of those, who, 
however practically at issue with their avowed theories, 
should maintain that the public funds were wasted, and ruin 
and national bankruptcy fast approaching. 

With this new sect of political seceders, " waste not the 
people's money" became the watch- word and order of the 
day: Some of them were clothed in red jackets; and by 
way of distinction, and proud of their new calling, had dub- 
bed themselves by the popular name of Radicals ; and with 
numerous inquiring resolutions, set forth with the avowed 
object of reducing and limiting public expenditure, and of 
prostrating all the great securities and defences of the nation. 
With this phalanx stood the Secretary of the Treasury, for 
his friends and followers constituted and made up the party. 
A glorious pretext was soon afforded to swell abroad their 
paeans of alarm : the annual report of the treasury had come 
forth, by which it appeared that the resources of the country 
were not adequate to its demands ; and that borrowing would 
have of necessity to be resorted to. This was delightful 
music to the ear, the evidence of waste and prodigality, and 
was urged with all necessary warmth, without stating, that 
while it was necessary to have recourse to a loan, an infinite- 
ly greater amount of the public debt was at the same time 
discharged, thus leaving a balance on the credit side of the 
government. This, however, was not necessary to be dis- 
closed, because it would have militated against the ostensible 
views of Radicalism. The Secretary himself was not behind 
in wishes on this subject, and so full was he of the idea of 
pressing strongly this phantom, that in his annual estimate, 
he proclaimed to the nation a deficiency of three millions, 
heyond what the actual state of our condition warranted. 
The vigilance of the Navy and War Secretaries detected his 
erroneous estimates in relation to their Departments, which 
Mr. Crawford had ventured to make on his own authority, 
and without any appeal to them for information. This was 



( ™ ) 

most exceptionable conduct. It was certainly his duty, sanc- 
tioned by official rectitude as well as by custom, to receive 
from the respective departments, the estimates necessary to 
their particular disbursements, and that be should make his 
in accordance with theirs ; but he did not do this, and pro- 
ceeded to form it from his own mighty conception, making 
an error to the amount of nearly three millions of dollars. 
Now, one of two conclusions arises, either that the deficiency 
thus promulged, was intended the better to further the views 
of his party; or else, it was such a manifestation of ignor- 
ance, as to be wholly inexcusable in a Secretary of the Trea- 
sury. 

And what benefit has been produced to the nation from 
this Radical school, at the head of which ostensibly stands 
Mr. Crawford ? What things have been done can be readily 
told ; but it is for a higher intelligence than mine to disclose 
the advantages that have come, or are likely to be produced 
from the course pursued. 

To them it is owing, that the navy fund has been greatly 
reduced, thereby arresting the progress of that proud and 
valuable defence of our country's rights. 

The army has been brought down to a size incompetent 
to give protection to our out-posts ; and scarcely sufficient to 
keep even our arms and arsenals in order. 

The military academy, that grand national institution, 
which while it diffuses intelligence and military science 
through our country, operates by early attachment, produced 
with our young men, as a strong bond of union, they have 
sought to crush and put down. 

The fortifications of our bays and rivers, have been ar- 
rested in their progress, and the country left defenceless. 

And worse than all, a disposition has been manifested to 
break upon the credit of the nation, by seeking to divert the 
sinking fund from the purposes and objects to which it had 
been solemnly pledged. 

These arc some of the blessed comforts to the country, 



( ™ ) 

which have been assayed at our new born radical mint ; and 
which we must expect will be pursued and followed up, on a 
more enlarged scale, if Mr. Crawford shall be placed at the 
head of our affairs. Therefore can I not look favourably 
on his pretensions, because under an administration profess- 
ing such sentiments, it is impossible that the country shall 
expect to find either safety, profit, or honour ; neither con- 
fidence at home, nor respectability abroad, can or will be 
inspired. 

I would gladly learn the authority, in point of reason, that 
should induce a nation, for any cause whatever, to di\ert the 
application of its sinking fund: or upon what principle it 
can be justified. He is a shallow politician who imagines 
there is any material difference in the rule by which an indi- 
vidual, or a nation should regard their interest ; that system 
of reason which will in safety conduct the one, will carry 
along equally prosperously the other. Let us suppose then 
that an individual obtaining a loan, should by way of security 
pledge and set apart a particular income for discharge of the 
debt thus contracted ; the creditor resting merely on his ho- 
nour for compliance ; if afterwards he should be found ex- 
pending that fund, diverting it to objects other than those to 
which it had been pledged, would not, and should not suspi- 
cion justly attach ? With honest men it would; and yet we 
have seen some of our modern politicians advocating such a 
course, and attempting to justify it, on what they are pleased 
to term true financial principles. Their argument in amount 
was, that the government stocks, by the act of 1817, could 
only be purchased at their par value: that all our stocks 
stood above this value, therefore could they not be bought 
in, and therefore might the fund with propriety be diverted. 
Miserable logic ! such as a village broker might be expected 
to urge, but which ill becomes a high-minded and honoura- 
ble nation. 

But I maintain that the sinking fund under the auspices of 
Mr. Crawford, has been diverted, and the credit of the coun- 



( 80 ) 

try broken in upon without the sanction of Congress, and 
without any authority whatever that i know of : and if the 
Secretary of the Treasury can explain this matter, he will 
furnish us with information which through his annual reports 
of the state of our finances, may in vain he looked for. I 
am well aware, however, of the course of argument and 
justification which he and his friends may and will resort to 
in his behalf; but it is that sort of argument which will 
satisfy none hut the dullest capacity. I shall not anticipate 
either him or them, hut wait until our " National" Editors 
shall come forth with their cue, and their defence, and then 
possibly Wyoming may attend to them. My object now is 
to show, and ineontestibly to prove, that from the sinking 
fund — a fund set apart to sustain the integrity, the credit, 
and the honour of our country, the money destined to enter 
into it, and to be held sacred and intangible, has been divert- 
ed : to what purpose, and why it has been so done, in oppo- 
sition to the express commands of Congress, is with the Se- 
cretary of the Treasury, or his Radical friends, to explain. 
In the deficiency now ascertained may exist the reason why 
the attempt was heretofore made to divert it from its legiti- 
mate object. It had already been diverted, and if a law 
could be procured to sanction such a course, detection as to 
time might have been rendered difficult, and the conduct of 
those who had done it made less objectionable. 

The first establishment of the sinking fund, soon after our 
government was organized, proceeded upon the ground of its 
inviolability, that the credit of the nation might not only 
remain "pure, but unsuspected." Mr. Hamilton was its pro- 
jector ; but in 1817, a plan somewhat variant was introduced 
by Mr. Lowndes, which received the sanction of Congress ; 
but in this there was an adequate fund set apart, and the 
same rigid regard to inviolability was attended to and pre- 
served. In that year, as any can see who will examine the 
act, there was set apart by an appropriation of Congress, to 
be annually paid, ten millions of dollars y but in addition to 



( 81 ) 

this sum, there was appropriated in the same year, and by 
the same act, nine millions ; making the entire sum set apart 
for the extinguishment of the public debt, in 1817, to amount 
to nineteen millions of dollars. In support of this fund, ab- 
solutely and uncontrollably vested in commissioners, with the 
design that it should remain sacred and untouched, the im- 
posts, tonnage, internal revenue, and sales of public lands 
were all pledged — Now pray tell me, for I am ignorant, 
what has beecTme of this fund, and how has it been disbursed? 
Let us calculate for five years, and then it will be seen how 
the account stands : 

For the year 1817, there was appropriated 19,000,000 

1818, 10,000,000 

1819, 10,000,000 

1820, 10,000,000 

1821, 10,000,000 



59,000,000 



In these five years then, there was appropriated by Con- 
gress to sustain the public credit and to pay off* the national 
debt, fifty-nine millions of dollars. And of this sum how 
much has been expended and paid away, by the commission- 
ers of the sinking fund, into whose hands it is made the duty 
of the Secretary of the Treasury to place the money ? Look 
to their reports and the amount will stand thus : 

Invested in 1817, 12,830,108 

1818, 7,169891 

1819, 7,703,821 

1820, 8,6 8 514 

1821, 8,367,093 



44,699.427 



Thus out of fifty-nine millions appropriated in five years, 
it is in the power of the Secretary of the Treasury to show 
that he has disbursed a little more than forty-four and a half 



( 82 ) 

millions, leaving about fifteen and a half millions diverted 
from its channel, and unaccounted for. Will he tell us it is 
yet on hand ? The state and condition of our finances dis- 
proves the assertion. Will he say it has gone out of the 
Treasury, and has been applied to other objects ? The answer 
is, why have you omitted to show us the fact? And even had 
it been so, whence was derived the authority to change the 
destination of a fund, which Congress had forbid to be touch- 
ed, and on which was meant to repose the honour and credit 
of the nation? The Secretary, or indeed the President, pos- 
sessed no authority to do this, for it was a fund pledged and 
set apart to the creditors of the government. 

Now although it may in part be true, that during most 
of the time our stocks were above their par value, yet in 
1820 and 21, those times of difficulty and scarcity of money, 
in our country, it is believed an amount equal to the appro- 
priations might, and ought to have been invested, and our 
public debt thus reduced twenty millions ; but instead of that 
the government, in those two years, were under the neces- 
sity of borrowing, and did borrow, near eight millions of dol- 
lars. A more improvident administration of the Treasury 
Department, our country has never witnessed, and all too 
at a period of profound peace ; and yet with all these facts 
the nation is to be told, that the incumbent of this Depart- 
ment. Mr. Crawford, is a man of very superior talent and 
qualification. Why did he divert this sacredly pledged 
fund ? What right or power had he to do it ? and what 
has become of it ? The public may never know, but they 
may suspect, that to advance and further particular views, 
it found ils way, and is now reposing in tire vaults of cer- 
tain insolvent, broken banks, under the appellation and 
stvle of t4 unavailable funds." For these insolvent insti- 
tutions, in the language of the u Suppressed Documents," 
there has been done "■ more than they ever dared to ask." The 
people's money they should be made to disgorge. 



£ 83 ) 

The diminution of the navy fund, which, through the instru- 
mentality of the party, has been effected, might with propriety 
be passed without comment. It is a subject which has divi- 
ded the politicians of this country, and perhaps honestly : I 
should forbear, therefore, to arraign that or any other opinion 
which may be the result of an honest difference. The idea 
may be had, for many have entertained it, that this country 
should not possess any considerable Naval strength ; and 
some too, even of distinguished standing, have -maintain- 
ed that a craft, capable of defending our harbours, was in 
fact the only kind of defence correspondent to our plain Re- 
publican economy. I had thought, however, that although 
time was, when such opinions prevailed, yet the nation had 
seen, and been convinced of its error, and foregone its opin- 
ion. 1 had thought, that since that proud period of our his- 
tory, when with fearless bravery, our gallant tars sustained their 
own, and their country's honour, that the public mind had 
settled down in the belief, that a Navy was necessary ; and 
that although, being costly, it was not to be created at a short 
notice, yet prudence and safety prompted to the conclusion, 
that it should be gradually enlarged, in a way correspondent 
to the resources of the country, and in a manner calculated 
hereafter to be serviceable. An additional argument in sup- 
port of it was, that while it was to be considered valuable for 
defence, there was nothing in it, that militated aught against 
freedom. Such I am sure was the state of the public mind 
until those new lights, springing up, adopted as a maxim in 
politics, that free of expence, society could be maintained and 
preserved; and without any adequate means of defence, a 
countrv be protected in its Independence and happiness. 
Should war shortly overtake us, repentance may be the con- 
sequence of such folly. 

The reduction of our gallant little army, under the flatter 
bg pretext, " save the people's money" was another favourite. 

11 



( 84 ) 

and successful scheme. Without regarding any of those shades 
of difference, which " time, place and circumstance" inspires^ 
the administration of Mr. Jefferson was looked to with a view 
of approaching nearly as they could, those of its features which 
had been deemed popular. This was their grand desideratum 
without permitting themselves at the same time, to recur to 
the circumstance, that Mr. Jefferson had found it necessary to 
maintain an army of more than three thousand men, when our 
population was less than half what it now is, with an infinitely 
smaller frontier to defend, and with much more limited re- 
sources than are at present possessed. What therefore in his 
time was an army adequate to every purpose of defence and 
safety : might all things considered, be well quadrupled in 1821 
and the same spirit of economy be still adhered to. These 
considerations, however, were lost sight of, or buried, in a de- 
sire to render fashionable the radical doctrines of the day ; 
and thus our little army was brought down, and made to as- 
sume a radical standard. 

Tht blindest policy, however, that any set of sensible men 
ever did resort to, was that of arresting the fortifications of the 
country, and leaving our coast, bays and rivers to defend 
themselves ; but it was another radical notion, and it obtained 
success. Experience is unquestionably the ablest teacher j 
yet there is a sort of stupid intellect in the world, which while 
it can trace what has been, and tell the page and paragraph 
where it may be found, is utterly Unable to derive any practi- 
cal benefit from the particular incidents themselves. Our war 
had truly brought with it, a most demonstrable evidence, of 
the ass liable points we had, and of the numerous injuries we 
had met, through the want of proper and suitable defences. 
We had seen the enemy land on our coast, when and where 
he pleased — alarm entire sections of country, and then undis= 
turbed depart. We had seen the Militia paraded and brought 
out, at great expense, and at no effect. Tranquillity restored 



( 85 ) 

at one place, by their departure, served only as the signal of 
alarm and interruption, at some other, unguarded and unde- 
fended point. The proceedings of the enemy in the Chesa- 
peake Bay alone, were to us ot incalculable injury, »nd yet in 
no wise to be prevented. Aware of this, the government at 
the close of the war, upon a large scale, undertook to defend 
its entrance. The importance of the Delaware, led also to the 
conclusion, that effectual measures should be res >rted to for 
the protection of the rich and valuable country which it watered. 
These and other points equally necessar) to be defended, had 
received the .consideration of the government, at a moment 
when the war being ended, and all the disadvantages we had 
laboured under being fresh in the recollection, the importance 
and necessity of such a course could be xh>: better judged of. 
The works were accordingly begun, and had assumed the ap- 
pearance of rapid and advantageous progress, wh<-n the radi- 
cal school arose to prostrate the whole. They were projected 
upon too large a scale, and would cost too much. The nation 
was out of funds, although not paying a. cent of tax at the time; 
and therefore, with a view to prove to the people how very 
attentive those n.exu lights were to their interests, the appro- 
priations were withheld, doubt and suspicion cast upon the 
administration by an unheard distribution and arrangement of 
the fund, while the amount vested was scarcely adequate to 
maintain in repair that which had previously been begun. 

And is this the mode by which intelligent men should guard 
the high trust confided to them, their country's safety ? Dur- 
ing the war the enemy's ships were found annoying our ves- 
sels within our own waters, and burning them in sight of our 
own shores. If pursued along our coast it was folly to seek 
for safety in our bays, for there they were sure to be followed. 
The country had not provided forts and defences under the 
guns of which they could retreat and find protection. If our 
ships of war were ready for sea, and anxious to sail, there 



< <tt ) 

were no securely protected ports along the coast, where rest- 
ing until a favourable wind and opportunity offered, they 
could pass to sea in defiance of a blockading squadron, or to 
which they could retreat when hardly pressed. All these cir- 
cumstances, weighty and powerful as they should have been 
considered, availed nothing v. ith this new party, for the ap- 
propriations were withheld, and the works permitted to lan- 
guish, and at this day were war to overtake us, our situation 
Would be found a miserable and a deplorable one. 

I am no military man, nor do I mean to urge that a cordon 
of posts should gird our sea shore. We have not the resour- 
ces, the population and power of France, by which to sustain 
that bold system of fortification and defence, to which she has 
found it necessary to resort ; but surely, for the reasons al- 
ready offered, there should at convenient points along our 
coast be strong works erected, if not to prevent an enemy from 
landing, a thing not contemplated, at least to afford our ships 
of war and merchantmen positions, whence at a favourable mo- 
ment to put to sea ; or where being hard pressed, they might 
seek a refuge, and retreat from capture. Why then hesitate 
and hah in a course, which reason, safety, and the interest' of 
the country, all demand to be pursued? Are the works too 
costly ?■ We lost more during the war for the want of them, 
than would be the price of their erection. Is the nation defi- 
cient in funds ? They will remain for the benefit of posterity 1 . 
and we have hence a right to tax posterity for the payment. 
These are matters, however, with which the Radical dot trines 
of the day are at war ; therefore can I not sustain, but feebly 
as it may be done, will I oppose, for the Chief Magistracy of 
this country, HrM who has shown himself the fr'rend, the pa- 
tron, and the advocate of such preposterous folly. 

WYOMING 



( 87 ) 

XO. XI. 

THE PRESIDENCY. 

In the selection of a Chief Magistrate, the pretensions, tht 
Claims and merits of the several gentlemen spoken of, ought well 
to be considered. It is said they are alt Republicans, and love 
their country *, and that so far as relates to talent and capacity, 
all are well qualified. Who then shall receive the high dis- 
tinction, is a question, to be asked and answered. 

De Witt Clinton, although not prominently presented, is ad- 
mitted to be a statesman of superior merit. His political pu- 
rity was only questioned, while faction with a view to its own 
advancement, was clamorous against him. How greatly su- 
perior are his talents and virtues to the little, would-be, great 
men of the day ; yet they were enabled to reach, and affect 
him, when reason's voice was drowned, in the noise which 
faction itself had raised. The public mind is too much en- 
grossed now, for him to be thought ot, or spoken of; yet that 
he is a patriot and statesman of the first class, all must con- 
cede. 

Andrew Jackson has talents of the first order. His writ- 
ings, actions, and above all, his military career, brilliant, all 
things considered, as that of any general of the age, proclaim 
him a man of high grade of talents, of firmness and devotion 
to the interest and cause of his country. Through life a steady, 
undeviating Republican. Discharging with ability every office 
he ever undertook. A soldier of the Revolution, a General 
in the late war, encountering every peril and hardship that any 
man ever did, for the protection and defence ot his country. 
Who that has feelings of gratitude, and loves the land he dwells 
in, will fear to trust the directions and affairs of this country ^ 
to him, who has protected and defended, and saved it. 



( 8» ) 

. Mr. Adams is a gentleman of high literary attainments, a 
finished scholar ; and from his long connections with the go- 
vernment, and mingling in puhlic life, is perhaps better than 
any other, acquainted with the particulars of our foreign rela- 
tions ! But he is a closet man, and from his books has acquired 
all that he has learned : and hence knows but little of man as 
he is. He stands indeed further from intrigue than any Ca- 
binet minister we have ; a plain blunt man, without address, 
or manners the least conciliating : extremely reserved, and 
always closely wrapped in thought. His politics, however, 
have been questioned, perhaps for the reason that he happens 
to be his father s son. 

Mr. Calhoun is an active, sprightly, smart young man : but 
wanting in age, he is wanting in judgment and reflection. 
His quickness is an injury, for in mental matters he may be 
likened to a sportsman, who always fires on the wing, and 
hence not unfrequently misses his mark. The man who rules 
this nation, " should read by day and meditate by night," or 
else have such an ample fund of information, thought, and re- 
flection, on hand, as at all times to be able to draw his checks 
freely and without the fear of protest. This gentleman has 
always been a correct Republican, and eight years hence hie 
friends might venture to think of him. 

Mr. Crawford possesses a fine appearance, but in manner is 
rough and uncouth. His conversation is highly agreeable, 
and much more so than could be expected from one who talks 
so incessantly. He is reputed a very manceuvering, artful, 
and intriguing man, though in this particular, perhaps, has no 
great advantage of Mr. Calhoun, whose expanding genius, in 
this respect, promises much more than plain and honest deal- 
ing could wish. Mr. Crawford's views of government and 
his radical notions are strong objections to him : and withal, 
his Republican principles are so questionable, as to be render- 
ed of doubtful character. 



( 89 ) 

Mr. Clay is evidently a man of more genius than mind*, 
more fancy than judgment. Like Mr. Calhoun, he will be 
the better of waiting eight years; and even then be young 
enough for so distinguished a trust. We have at present, w if 
not some better, at least some older soldiers;" and one, to 
whom this country owes a great deajl ; a term that may be 
understood by Mr. Clay. 

All things considered, Andrew Jackson is the preferable 
imam In talents he is equal to any j in services performed, 
hardships and dangers encountered for his country, he is su- 
perior to them all. From his standing, and being unconnected 
with any of the intrigues of the day, he will at home be able 
to draw to his aid the best talents of his country, and abroad to 
extend and improve our respectability* Thr holy allies 
Will be more circumspect towards us } and should they come 
to our land with hostile feelings, we shall have a man at the 
head of affairs, who will not recline under the shade of the 
White house, and leaVe our bays, our shores, and cities, to be 
ravaged ,• but will meet them, and fight them, and, " where 
liberty expires, there make his grave." The reputation he 
possesses, his capacity, bravery* and decision, will prove a 
security, more than equal to the little army the Radicals have 
lelt us ; while to our habits* and political purity, his Republi- 
can plainness will be of incalculable benefit* His strait for- 
ward honesty, however, will fail to recommend him to the lead- 
ing men. His resting ground is alone with the people, and 
the simple question to be decided is, who shall govern this 
nation, the People or the Leading Men? Yeomanry of the coun- 
try look to this, and think of this! ! For " that is the ques- 
tion." If you are freemen act fearlessly as such ; or at once 
surrender and be slaves. 

My preference of Andrew Jackson becomes stronger as his 
claims and pretensions are contrasted with others who are seek- 
ing to obtain the Presidential chair. His capacity none can 



( 9© ) 

distrust, because no man in our country has afforded stronger 
demonstration of intelligence and statesman like conceptions, 
on all great subjects that have come before him. Strength of 
mind and ready decision have marked his conduct in every 
situation in which he has been placed. His military qualifi- 
cations all admit, then why should his capacity as a Civilian 
and Statesman be questioned, when the evidences are so con- 
clusive, that no man in the country has discharged the civil 
appointments he has held with superior fidelitv and firmness. 
If his early life be examined, there are abundant proofs that 
as a lawyer, judge, politician, he ever maintained himself as 
one possessing integrity 7 and an intimate acquaintance with 
his duties. If the productions of his pen be looked to, al- 
though there may not be perceived that chastity in compos* 
ition, and purity of expression which can strike harmoniously 
on the ear of a closet scholar, yet will there be discovered a 
strength of conception and a boldness of remark, which, 
coming directly at its object, in disregard of circuity and of 
details, irresistibly carries the mind to the conclusions at 
which he would arrive. A matter of this sort, therefore, I 
shall not venture to argue, because it is too plain, and because 
from the numerous facts and circumstances which his "Life" 
presents, and which are already before the public, it would be 
folly in the extreme to attempt argument. I urge this how- 
ever, that it is a parodox, a contradiction in terms, to say, that 
any man ever did, or ever can make a distinguished General 
unless he be possessed of the highest order of intellect. There 
is such a variety ot mental ingredient and qualification — so 
much boldness of conception, quickness, decision, and firm- 
ness of character, necessary to the making a first rate mili- 
tary commander, such as Jackson has shown himself to be, 
that none can attain to it, unless supported both by nature and 
acquirements. History clearly shows this fact, that in Europe 
tl\e most distinguished Governors in peace, whose reigns 



( 9t ) 

have been most prosperous, are those who were most renown- 
ed for military qualifications : the reason is, that to make an 
able general, requires mind and qualities of the highest order. 
Our country is yet too young to test principles by example; 
in General Washington, however, we have satisfactory proof, 
that a distinguished military man and a good civilian,, are 
quite compatible terms. Jackson too, so far as he has been 
called to a discharge of the duties of civil life, presents an 
equally conclusive example by which to test the rule. 

Many entertain the belief that Jackson possesses, as they 
term it, too much temper. A portion of those who urge the 
objection are indeed persuaded that it is true ; but a much 
greater proportion press it from design, to favour some favour- 
ite of their own, and from the hope that it may, and will, 
prove a popular objection. His uniform conduct disproves 
ths suggestion : the first and foremost answer to it however, 
is, that his neighbours and friends, those who knew him most 
intimately, have always manifested towards him regard and 
confidence. What military man in this, or any other coun- 
try can recur to as many battles as he has fought, with such a 
disproportion of loss, in his own and the enemy's ninks. In 
his first Indian battle his loss in killed was less than forty, 
while that of the savages was nearly five hundred. His other 
contests in the Creek war were of similar result : but at his 
Horse Shoe battle, where determined opposition and bravery 
were shewn, while his loss was quite inconsiderable, that of 
the Indians was nothing short of six hundred. In his conflict 
at New-Orleans on the 22d of December, when he was first 
brought in collision with a civilized army, under skillful gen- 
erals, and where the arrangement and disposition of his troops 
were admitted to be of a most masterly kind, the loss of the 
British army, although in point of numbers and discipline 
greatly superior to his own, was more than three timesas great 
as his, These facts and circumstances are enough to prove 

12 



( 92 ) 

him possessed of discretion and thoughtfulness, and every ne- 
cessary providence and reflection ; while his correspondence 
with the polished commanders of the British army, shews 
most clearly that in diplomacy, or at the sword, he was fairly 
their equal, that he always understood what he was about, 
and at no time permitted any advantage, to be obtained over 
him. All these considerations satisfy me, of his high mental 
pretensions, and of his prudence and his discretion ; and that 
there is no man, whether in a storm or a calm, into whose 
hands the destinies of this country could be more securely 
confided. Over and above this, he has been through life, 
both in practice and theory, a steady undeviating republican. 
Such a man is now wanted at the head of affairs. He is com- 
mitted to none, and is concerned in no course or system of 
intrigue; at a time too when the monarchsof Europe, are en- 
deavouring to put down all free governments, may we not 
find some little security, in having such a man as Jackson for 
President, whose decision, firmness, and military character, 
is so well known, and so highly respected both at home and 
abroad ? But 56 years of age, he is yet in the prime and 

vigour of life, 

WYOMING 



Xo. XII. 

Andrew Jackson was born the 15th day of March, in the 
year 1767, near Waxsaw, in South Carolina; shortly after 
the arrival of his family, who had emigrated to this country 
from Ireland. I state this fact, because a well informed gen- 
tleman, was the other day heard to observe, the only objection 



( 93 ) 

he had to Jackson, was, that he was now too old to be Presi- 
dent, and to discharge the arduous duties of the station. By 
this statement, derived from his biography, he is now fifty-six 
years of age j and hence, if elected* will be younger than any 
who has heretofore filled the place. 

In the same work, is an anecdote of him illustrative of the* 
fact, that early dawnings often times evince the future charac- 
ter of the man. The Revolutionary war raged. His native 
state was overrun by tories, under the protection and encour- 
agement of Lord Rawdon's army. Jackson, then only about 
14 or 15 years of age, fired with patriotic feelings, went forth 
a volunteer in the service of his country. He was taken pri- 
soner, when a British officer, in a peremptory tone, command- 
ed him to brush his boots. Young as he was he repelled the 
insult, refused to do as he was ordered, and demanded to be 
treated as a prisoner. The officer) and a contemptible fellow 
he must have been> inasmuch as he should have commended 
rather than have censured his youthful pride of feeling, aimed 
a blow at him with his sword, by which his hand, thrown up 
for defence^ was well nigh severed. With an elder brother, 
made prisoner at the same time, he was thrown into prison, 
for no other crime than that he dared to be seen in arms for 
his country, where he encountered every suffering that disease, 
small pox, confinement, and loathsome food could bring; suf- 
ferings which, although the soul and constitution of Andrew 
was able to bear, were yet beyond the ability of his brother, 
who sunk under them, and died. Andrew Jackson was alone 
of all his family permitted to survive the ravages of the Revo- 
lutionary war; yet he lived to avenge in the second, the 
wrongs and injuries and misfortunes, which had been produ- 
ced to him by the first. The ways of Providence are dark and 
inscrutable. The stripling boy of one contest, who suffered 
greatly, and who was deprived of all that was near and dear to 



( 9* ) 

bim, is found forty years after, by his own exertions, and with- 
out the aid and support of friends, reared into consequence, 
and redeeming and wiping off his own, and his country's 
wrongs and injuries. Bat for Jackson, and at this moment 
we might have been in war, or else a conquered people ; for 
Orleans taken, would not have been surrendered, and hence 
must the war have continued, or degrading submission come; 
which of the two is most likely to have happened, those dele- 
gates of the Hartford Convention, who came to prescribe a 
course of conduct to the government, best can tell ; unfortu- 
nately for them and for their treasonable designs, they reach- 
ed Washington, with the news of peace, and with the more 
glorious intelligence of Packenham's defeat, when locking 
themselves in silence, they became reserved and speechless. 
Jackson's exertions and Jackson's labours saved the honour 
of our country ; for had the war closed without the fetes per- 
formed oy him, a wretched balance would have stood against 
the credit, the honour, and the bravery of the nation ; and yet 
the men who are in quest of office, profit, and self advance- 
ment, would fain forget and pass him by. His popularity, 
however, is not with such as seek after office, but with those 
who, in the desire to see their country prosperous and happy, 
are willing to bury all other considerations. Jackson stands 
alone, the u People's Candidate," and alone of those who are 
spoken of, merits so to be considered;. 

Mine is not the creed of men, nor yet the creed of interest; 
for, unless my heart deceives me, I could not be induced to 
advocate the claims, to the Presidential chair, of the nearest 
friend I have, il his principles and his pretensions did not 
come up to that standard of excellence and purity, which my 
feeble judgment might assure me was correct, and in accord- 
ance with the republican institutions of my country. General 
Jackson's history, all his public acts, and the testimony of those 
who know him intimately, led me to the conclusion that he 



( .95 ) 

was the kind and description of man the country needed ; and 
withal that there was no man to whom the country owed so 
much. Theretore was it, that I wrote of him, and spoke of 
him, not from an expectation that a plain thinker like myself 
could produce any effect on public sentiment, but because I 
was persuaded of the omnipotence of truth, and that it was 
only necessary the people should be told of his deeds, his ser- 
vices, and his love of country, to remember and to appreciate 
and to reward them. It was no part of Wyoming's wishes or 
intentions to urge aught against one ; not even to speak of 
them, still less to indulge in any thing personal. To sustain 
the patriot Jackson no such resort was necessary. It is in the 
strength of his own merit and pretensions that each must rest, 
not on the weaknesses and defects of others, and still less on 
the detraction of others. 

In looking, however, to the state and condition of the coun- 
try, and tracing the pretensions and claims of one who I 
thought most essentially merited the patronage of the nation, 
I have been led, rather from accident than design, to speak of 
those acts of the Secretary of the Treasury which had appear- 
ed to me exceptionable, and as at variance with our policy ; 
and therefore were they proclaimed. Permit me to ask, what 
indeed is the nature and character of the claims which Mr. 
Crawford can present ? Does his diplomatic career, while in 
that service, contain any thing calculated to evince him a man 
of high intelligence? Not at all!! But are we told his Con- 
gress career does ! Well be it so, and where are the facts to 
prove the assertion true ? There is no man I am persuaded, in 
the least acquainted with our Congressional proceedings, who 
does not know, that of all possible matters, the speech making 
of that body is the most fallacious and deceptive ; and that 
many a dull and senseless drawl, from a speech in the Nation- 
al Intelligencer, has obtained something of reputation, when, 
in fact, he was not entitled to none whatever. If Reporters 



( 96 ) 

were at hand, accurately to catch the expressions of the speak~ 
er> and faithfully to send them forth as they were made, they 
might be taken as a test, of both Intelligence and principle. 
But are things thus done, and is this the fashion of the day ? 
Not at all ! ! The speech not unfre^uently is made, through 
idle vanity of the maker ; nine times in ten* not from any ef- 
fect to be produced when uttered, but to be conned, and scan- 
ned, and polished, that it may be made to assume its travelling 
habiliments, and journey forth into the world* Are you no 
grammarian? You may have a friend who is! Do you know 
not the difference to be produced in meaning, between the use 
of a comma and a period ? The same friend may be better in- 
formed ! And in this way through the various hands into 
which it may pass, in the endj a highly finished, polished, 
something, may sally forth to the public, securing for the au j 
thor a will-o'-wisp reputation and character. I mean not to 
apply this suggestion to any individual, it is only used as 
proof — that for the ascertaining the sentiments and talents of 
individuals, a Congress speech, is of all things in the world, 
the most deceptive ; it scarcely merits to be considered the 
shadow of a substance. 

My objections to my Mr. Crawford amount to these : — - 

1. That he has done nothing for the country — the country 
much for him ; nothing therefore is due to him, the balance 
being against him. 

2. He aided in bringing on the war, and as soon thereafter 
as was practicable, he fled beyond the reach of danger, and 
on a comfortable salary reposed himself quietly in France. 

3. He has shown himself a man of too much intrigue, for 
our plain republican habits. Ever since 1816, when the war 
being over, he returned from France, has he been intriguing 
and striving to have himself made President. To banks, now 
broken and insolvent, he has extended favours, with money, 
not his own, but which belonged to the people ; over which he 



( 97 ) 

was trusted to preside, and which he had no business to touch, 
or interfere with, except to take care of. 

4. His democracy is not orthodox. He was a federalist; the 
eulogist and friend of the wretched, corrupt administration of 
1798; and now, any thing you please, to be popular. 

5. He has aided and cherished corruption by employing a 
Senator in Congress, to ride through certain states, at a high 
compensation, with him, to aid and assist him in the business 
of •— - — the land office. 

6. He is the head and patron of the Radical school, which 
acts on the principle of leaving society to take care of itself; 
and to defend itself, without resources and without prepara- 
tion. Prostrating the navy — the army — the military academy, 
and finally breaking in upon, and perverting the sinking fund, 
to the prejudice of the nation's credit — To the north a friend; 
in the south an enemy to manufactures. These are my ob- 
jections ; and pray tell me, ought such a politician to be sup- 
ported, and ought not such facts and circumstances to be dis- 
closed ? It may be, however, that upon fair examination, there 
may be nothing exceptionable in any of these matters ; and 
perhaps a higher order of intelligence than mine, might ex- 
plain away each and every of the objections; but a plain un- 
derstanding, such as I am gifted with, and which knows no- 
thing of the catches and quavers of argument, — an under- 
standing which delights in plainness, and is altogether unskil- 
led in that sort of logic, which can prove any thing, even that 
a " penny is better than heaven,"* must take words and ac- 



* Wyoming's allusion bere, is ironically to that mode of argument, 
which logicians call syllogism ; and by which any thing and every thing 
may be proved— as, ex quo, " nothing is better than heaven, a cent is better 
than heaven." It is by this sort ot argument, that Wyoming, and indeed 
some others better known, believe it alone possible to pe< suade this nation 
that Mr. Crawford or indeed any of the intriguers at Washington, is fit 
for the Presidencv. 



( M ) 

tions in their plain and simple import, and judge of them ac- 
cordingly. My plain understanding tells me this, that Jackson 
is the friend of his country, that he has bled for her, suffered 
for her — a soldier of the Revolution and of the late war, there- 
fore do I prefer him, desiring at the same time not to aid him 
by censuring others ; he needs no such assistance. 

The man who stands aloof from intrigue, — who is allied by 
corrupt ties and contracts to no party — who seeks not for office, 
but " holds the noiseless tenor of hi* way" free from the em- 
barrassments that trammel ambitious aspirants after office, 
will be able, more than other, to rest in quiet even should de- 
feat ensue. This proud pleasure will attend him, that he im- 
plored no man's aid, nor pledged the posts under his control, 
with any view to his advancement : he will rest consoled in 
the thought, that those who espoused his cause, acted from 
principle, and from love of country, and without the promise 
of future favours to be bestowed. If Andrew Jackson shall 
succeed to the government of this Country — a country, which 
by his valor has been protected and saved, he will owe it to no 
intrigue, nor to the kind efforts of the leading men : he will 
owe it to himself, and the remembrance of a people, conscious 
of his worth, and grateful for the splendid services he has 
rendered them ; and on such an issue, foreboding and fearful 
must prove the contest of those who shall contend against 

him. 

The more we become acquainted with this extraordinary 
man, the more are we constrained to admire him ; for when- 
ever he speaks, something out of the ordinary channel at once 
presents itself. We have seen him very lately created Gov- 
ernor of Florida, at a salary of 6000 dollars a year, yet no 
sooner did he organize the government, and restore order 
out of chaos, than he resigned his post, and retired to the 
shades of private life. But he was again called back. Con- 
riding in his skill, and judgment, and discretion long tried, he 



( 99 ) 

was appointed by the Executive, and confirmed by the Senate 
to proceed on a mission to Mexico. Although, however, the 
office was both honourable and lucrative, yet that he might 
not aid the cause of an Usurper against free principles and 
the rights of a people struggling for liberty, he declined an 
acceptance] of the mission. Those who recollect his reasons 
for not accepting the appointment, will remember, that he bet- 
ter understood, as events have shown, the situation of Mex- 
ico, and the true policy of the U. States, than did the Pres- 
ident, and his advisers, the Senate; for ere he could have 
reached his destination, the tyrant Iturbide was banished from 
his throne. A minister from this country, to such a man and 
at such a time, would truly have placed us in an awkward 
situation. 

I would fain enquire whether any of our Cabinet Candid- 
ates for the high office of executive magistrate, if resting in 
the shades of private life, would have refused an office so dis- 
tinguished ; the emoluments of which, for one year only, 
would have exceeded twenty thousand dollars ? Let the Sec- 
retary of War, who availed himself of the early opportunity 
of becoming a cabinet minister, reply. Let the Secretary of 
State answer, who has occupied some public post or other, at 
home or abroad, ever since the days of his youth, or if Mr. 
Crawford's mission to France, while his country wrapped in 
the blaze of war, was struggl ng for freedom and for safety, 
be any commentary on the question, let that be appealed to. 
Remembrence will proclaim, that thither he posted, while the 
battle's confusion lasted, nor returned untill the danger had 
passed, and when Hope's tt flattering tale," stirred him to the 
expectation of defeating the election of President Monroe, 
and of succeeding to that high honour himstlf. But Jackson 
did decline it, and yet of all our statesmen, he who acts upon 
the principle ** that offices should not be sought for, nor yet 

13 



( 100 ) 

when conferred decline," might have pursued a different pol- 
icy, and been acting at the same time on the broad scale of his 
own declaration. He was unwilling, however, and refused to 
aid with his presence the pretentions of an Usurper against 
the rights and privileges of the people ; and thus assumed a 
ground on which reason and the voice of the country have 
sustained him. 

Again, however, he has been called to take upon himself 
the discharge of public and important duties, and again promp- 
ted bv those enviable principles which mark the excellence of 
his character, he has consented to yield to the call of his coun- 
try. With some surprise, though mingled with great plea- 
sure, I have seen that this veteran in war, has yielded to the 
entreaties of his state, and become a Senator in the Congress 
of the United States. Whispering sermise said it was with 
a view to intrigue, and manage, and endeavour to obtain the 
office of Chief Magistrate. His enemies were perceived to 
shrug their shouldiers, and cast significant looks: the doubt* 
ing to become doubtful | while his friends are seen to hang 
in despondency tneir heads, least it might be inferred, that 
catching the mania offtbe times, Jackson too was lending him-? 
self to corruption, and to the fashonable intrigues and vices 
of the day. Those fears, however, have subsided, and joy 
to his friends and sorrow to his enemies have again returned. 
The correspondence of himself and Major Maury, a distin- 
guished and leading number of the Legislature of his state, 
has been exhibited to the public, and leaves them at a loss, 
only in one point, whether most to admire the candid, liberal 
sentiments and frelings of the friend, or the Republican can- 
dor and open sincerity of Jackson. It is most true, he re- 
marks, " that J have not only said, but have I believe through 
hjt-y acted upon the principle, that office in a Republican gov- 
ernment like ours should not be solicited } nor yet when confer- 



( wi ) 

red, declined s still would J suggest to my friends whether 
they ought not to excuse me, for the reason that there arc 
many better qualified to meet the fatigues, and on whose 
services a reliance for a time to come, with the prospect of 
becoming better as they advance, might be safely reposed 
whereas, from health impaired, and advancing age, neither 
the one nor the other could be calculated on from me." Well 
knowing, too, how prone was the world to censure, and to 
the condemnation of acts the most virtuous and well design- 
ed, he proceeds to remark, " that it might be thought, and 
would be said, that the appointment had been conferred by 
his state, and sought for too by him, with a view to other ob- 
jects and for other purposes, at present pending before the na- 
tion. I have therefore/' continues the general, " earnestly 
to request of my friends, and btg of you, not to press me to 
an acceptance of the appointment of Senator ; if appointed, I 
could not decline; and yet accepting, I should do great v'i6- 
lence to my feelings and my wishes." 

Such was the answer returned by Jackson, from the seat 
of his retirement, to the application of a distinguished mem- 
ber of the Legislature, asking permission to use his name ia 
his country's service, with an assurance that he would be sup- 
ported by a large majority of the members; an answer, which 
while it does credit alike to his head and heart, sustains him 
firmly upon those Republican principles, where heretofore his 
friends and advocates, and his own conduct have placed him. 
How pleasureable is the thought, that in all the sentiments 
which he utters, even in his unguarded moments, there is an 
accordance with those Democratic feelings, which the friends 
of the country recognize as correct. If all this;— .the batdes 
he has fought— the dangers he has passed, and the enemies he 
has subdued and conquered, all that his country might be 
prosperous and free, be not sufficient to establish him, the first 



( 102 ) 

and best of Patriots and every way worthy of public confi- 
dence, then is it vain to reason, and equally vain for the good 
to love their country, or to devote themselves to its service. 

WYOMING, 



( 103 ) 

FINALE OF WYOMING. 



Indulgent Reader, adieu ! You know me not ; you may 
never know me. AH I ask of you is to ascribe my labours 
and feeble exertions to some higher cause, than any thing 
which appertains to myself I have spoken to you in the 
language of truth and sober earnestness , and though feebly, 
have endeavoured to sustain the pretensions of one of the 
first and best men known to the country ; — one of her stern- 
est and most incomparable patriots. If I had consulted his 
interest and his happiness, the regard entertained by me for 
his character, his labours, and his services, would have 
prompted to a different course, and led me to the desire, that 
he should remain upon his farm and at his plough, rather 
than embark in duties calculated to harass and to disturb 
him. But it is not the claim of ANDREW JACKSON 
which I urge; it is not for him, nor on his account, that I 
have laboured, far from it ! It is for my country ! It is 
because — 

That, he is the last of that high-minded, and proud corps, 
who stood upon the tossed battlements of their country, and 
fearlessly rocked the cradle of the Revolution. Like the 
avaricious miner, in quest of gold, as long as a view of those 
precious materials can be found, I will love it, pursue it, and 
cleave to it. 

But in latter time, he has saved, defended, and shielded 
his country. Storms and perils he has breasted, and borne 
her in safety through her angry trials. 

Against the Holy Alliance his name alone will prove a 
host for his country ; and in the hour of trial he will stan< by 
her, " to shield her, and serve her, or perish there too." 

The slumbering, and almost forgotten, Democracy of the 
country, will again, by his election, rise into view, and be 
restored. Knaves will cease to fatten on the spoils of the 

1* 



( 104 ) 

people, and plain habits, and honest men, will once more rise 
into fashion. 

Decide then, if the country does not need such a states- 
man : and remember that a higher strained and more de- 
grading system of corruption and intrigue by the leading 
men to defraud the people of this country of their privileges 
and of their liberty, has never yet been attempted. Awake ! 
Be upon your guard » Think and act for yourselves, and all 
will be well. Adieu ! 

WYOMING. 





































































































ci 


























































































■^ 


































-: 




























.0 0. 



V 

I 

> 















^ ,< 









^ 









iV- r A. 









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




007 379 229 






